Violence flares in Rakhine State ahead of president's visit

“Mobs from nearby villages started setting fire to Muslim houses and shops in five villages,” said a local police officer. Rakhine was the scene of bloody sectarian fighting last year that claimed at least 167 lives and left 140,000 homeless, most of them Rohingya Muslims. Yesterday’s violence appeared to be directed against Rakhine Muslims who are Myanmar citizens, sources said. The renewed violence came hours before President Thein Sein was due to make his first visit to the state.