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| A woman from Panipin Village, Oakkan Township was crying as her house was burnt down by the mobs (Photo: Sai Zaw) |
April 30, 2013
Yadana Htun
OKKAN, Myanmar - Anti-Muslim violence flared anew in central Myanmar on
Tuesday as angry mobs destroyed two mosques and set fire to hundreds of
homes and shops in unrest that injured at least 10 people in the
predominantly Buddhist nation.
Associated Press journalists who travelled to the area, about 70 miles
(110 kilometres) north of the commercial capital of Yangon, saw
terrified Muslim families who fled their homes, hiding in dense
vegetation. Many, in a state of shock, cried as fires burned in the
night.
Two mosques in the town of Okkan were damaged and looted. Columns of
smoke rose outside Okkan, where regional police chief Win Naing said
mobs launched arson attacks in three villages.
He said there were no immediate reports of deaths in the unrest, but at least 10 people had been injured.
Stopping the spread of anti-Muslim violence that rocked central Myanmar
last month and western Rakhine state last year has proven a serious
challenge for President Thein Sein's government. Human rights groups
accuse his administration of failing to crack down on extremists, with
overwhelmed police standing by as machete-wielding mobs attacked Muslims
and their property.
Muslims make up about 4 per cent of the nation's roughly 60 million people.
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