UN calls for action to end Myanmar violence
World body says more than 22,000 people have been displaced after a flare-up in fighting between Muslims and Buddhists.
The UN has called for "urgent action" to prevent the spread of
intercommunal violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, after recent clashes
killed dozens of people and left thousands homeless
The organisation said a team lead by Ashok Nigam, its Resident and
Humanitarian Co-ordinator, had visited the state and seen "large scale
destruction of houses".
The government estimates that more than 22,500 people have been
displaced from their homes in the last week and more than 4,600 houses
have been burnt.
Security forces have been deployed to areas where clashes between
ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya erupted on October 21.
Tensions have been running high in Rakhine state after Muslims were
blamed for the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in June, setting off
deadly clashes that displaced tens of thousands of people.
"I am gravely concerned by the fear and mistrust that I saw in the
eyes of the displaced people in both communities," Nigam said in a
statement.
"It is critically important that the government ensures that the rule
of law prevails, prevents any further spreading of this violence and
continues to communicate strong messages of harmony."
'Set fire to homes'
The total number of displaced is now estimated to be about 100,000,
with most of them living in camps around Sittwe, the state capital.
"The Rakhines came to attack us with knives. They set fire to our
homes, even though we have nothing there for them. I left in only the
clothes I am wearing," said a 63-year-old woman in one of the camps. "I
can't go back."
A Buddhist Rakhine in Kyaukpyu gave a different account when contacted by the Reuters news agency.
He said Rakhines and Muslims had fought each other with knives,
swords, sticks and slingshots. Overwhelmed, the Muslims then "set fire
to their own houses as a last resort and ran away," he said.
Many of those affected by the clashes belong to the Muslim Rohingya minority, which has long complained of discrimination.
The estimated 800,000 stateless Rohingya are seen as illegal
immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh by the government and many
Burmese, who call them "Bengalis".
But other Muslims in Rakhine state have also been swept up in the latest violence.
Near the camps in Sittwe, some of the displaced people said they were
Kaman, a Muslim minority recognised as one of Myanmar's more than 130
ethnic groups.
"My father is Muslim and my mother is Buddhist ... They attacked us
by defining us as 'Rohingya,' Aye Kyaw, a Kaman who fled the unrest in
Kyaukpyu, told the AFP news agency.
"We are not Rohingya. We did not migrate from other countries."
The 30-year-old, who said his community had lived in Rakhine for
centuries, said the Rakhine had "tortured us cruelly" and appealed for
protection.