Burma Buddhists Set Muslim Homes On Fire In Renewed Sectarian Violence

A 1,000-strong Buddhist mob, Sunday, burned
down dozens of Muslim homes and shops in
fresh sectarian violence that errupted in
Burma, following rumors that a young
woman had been s*xually assaulted by a
Muslim man. There were no reports of injuries. A crowd surrounded the police station late
on Saturday and then went on an hours-long
rampage after authorities refused to hand
over the assault suspect, a police officer
from the area said. About 35 houses and 12 shops – most
belonging to Muslims – were destroyed
before calm was restored, he said, asking
not to be named because he did not have
the authority to speak to reporters. The radical monk Wirathu, whose anti-
Muslim rhetoric has placed him at the
center of rising religious violence in the
predominantly Buddhist nation, posted
news of the riot in the outskirts of the town
of Kantbalu on his Facebook page. Burma has been grappling with sectarian
violence since the country’s military rulers
handed over power to a nominally civilian
government in 2011. The unrest – which has killed more than 250
people and left 140,000 others displaced –
began last year in the western state of
Rakhine, where Buddhists accuse the
Rohingya Muslim community of illegally
entering the country and encroaching on their land. The violence, on a smaller scale but still
deadly, spread earlier this year to other
parts of the country, fueling deep-seeded
prejudices against the Islamic minority and
threatening this country’s fragile transition
to democracy. Almost all of the victims have been
Muslims, often attacked as security forces
stood by. Myingt Naing, an opposition lawmaker who
represents constituents in Kantbalu, was
outraged by the latest violence. He said Muslims and Buddhists have lived
side-by-side in the area for many years.
“There is a mosque in almost every village
in our township and we live a peaceful co-
existence,” he said as he headed to the
scene, adding that at least one mosque was burned down in the violence. “I cannot understand why the authorities
were unable to control the crowd when it
originally started,” he said.