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Myanmar Curfew After Muslim-Buddhist Riots
BANGKOK, May 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Myanmar's military government has declared a curfew in the central town of Taungoo after clashes broke out last week between Muslims and Buddhists.
"Some clashes took place in Taungoo ... after a brawl started between some locals last week," a spokesman for the junta said in a statement.
"A curfew has been imposed to maintain peace and stability and bring the situation to normal. So far the situation is under control and contained. An official investigation is in progress at present."
Taungoo lies 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of the capital Yangon - far from the northwestern regions bordering Bangladesh and India which are normally the scene of sectarian unrest, the AFP news agency said.
The Thailand-based journal Irrawaddy, which first reported on the troubles in Taungoo and nearby Taunggyi, said the cause of the clash was unknown.
It reported that a Buddhist gang destroyed shops and restaurants owned by Muslims in downtown Taungoo on May 15th, provoking shop owners to mount a counter-attack.
Later, a larger mob joined with local monks to assault other Muslim centers in the city, it said, adding that according to unconfirmed reports, one monk was killed.
The official press has maintained silence on the trouble.
Earlier, a Myanmar government-approved Islamic organization in Burma said at least ten people died in the riots between Muslims and Buddhists.
A spokesman for the Burma Islamic Council, Haji U Thein, said the clashes broke out in the town of Toungoo after Buddhists saw television news reports about the destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.
The spokesman said although a curfew was still in force in the town after a week of clashes, the situation remained tense.
At least 10 people died in similar sectarian clashes in the western Burmese town of Sittwe two months ago.
There is a long history of sporadic violence between Burma's Buddhist and Muslim communities, particularly in the west of the country towards the Burmese border with Bangladesh.
It is not the first curfew to be imposed as a result of sectarian violence. In February, the junta declared a curfew in the western city of Sittwe after violent riots broke out between Muslims and Buddhists there.
Bangladeshis, who are Muslim, have long crossed into Myanmar's border provinces seeking seasonal work, and their nomadic existence has made them virtually stateless.
Buddhists in Rakhine have grown to resent the flood of Muslims moving into their relatively affluent state, and clashes occur periodically, according to news agencies.
Buddhists make up some 89% of the population in Myanmar, with Muslims and Christians each representing four percent.
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