Myanmar mob stones Muslim home amid Rohingya crisis
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 IST
Yangon: Police fired rubber bullets to break up a mob which stoned the home of a Muslim butcher in central Myanmar, authorities said today, as religious tensions rise amid a surge of violence in the west.
The mob attack on Sunday night in the Magway region of the mainly Buddhist nation was fuelled by anger over the deepening crisis in the western state of Rakhine, according to a government press release.
Rakhine has been gripped by violence since militants from the Rohingya Muslim minority attacked security forces in late August, triggering brutal army reprisals that have left hundreds dead and pushed nearly 300,000 Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh.
The exodus accounts for nearly a third of Myanmar's Rohingya population, creating a humanitarian emergency as a flood of famished and wounded refugees pour into Bangladesh's already overcrowded camps.
The fighting has also pushed some 27,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Hindus to flee their homes in northern Rakhine.
The conflict, marked by competing accusations from different ethnic groups, has intensified long-running mistrust between Myanmar's Buddhists and its maligned Muslim minority.
Those tensions bubbled over in Taung Twin Gyi township on Sunday night when dozens of villagers in a 400-strong crowd sang the national anthem and lobbed rocks at the home of a Muslim butcher before marching over to the local mosque, where police dispersed the mob.
Police arrested one man, 30-year-old Hnin Ko Ko Lin, who said the group acted because "they could not accept the things that happened in Rakhine", according to the government statement.
Min Thein, a lower house MP for the township, confirmed to AFP that the butcher was Muslim.
"Now we are urging all the people to stay calm and we have already told the Muslim residents to stay in their homes," he added.
Tensions between Buddhists and Muslims have simmered in Myanmar since 2012 when sectarian violence erupted in Rakhine, leaving hundreds dead and pushing more than 100,000 Rohingya into decrepit camps.
The country's new civilian government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is desperate to avoid a repeat of anti-Muslim riots that swept through central Myanmar in 2013, leaving scores dead.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 215K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
More in Global
London: Researchers have found that lipid turnover in fat tissue decreases during ageing and makes it easier to gain weight, even if we don't e...
Recently posted. 875 views . 1 min read
Finally, a prescription for the precise amount of exercise you need to keep your brain in tip-top shape: After reviewing 98 clinical trials, researchers determined ...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
New Delhi: another research suggests breastfeeding may diminish a mother's heart attack and stroke chance later in life.
Breastfeeding offers giganti...
Recently posted. 2K views . 12 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 4K views . 52 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 140 min read
The best way to protect your little one from skin infections and rashes during the monsoon is by keeping your baby clean and dry.
Recently posted. 985 views . 1 min read
Did you know increasing Vitamin D intake in children could help in preventing asthma? Read here to know more preventive measures and causes for asthma in children...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read