Fresh fighting kills three in Rakhine, Myanmar

October 24, 2012: This formerly busy neighborhood was burnt to the ground in the June riotsThree people have been killed in renewed sectarian violence between minority Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists over the past two days in Rakhine state, officials said.

Arson attacks in the troubled west of Myanmar by both Muslims and Buddhists left at least 300 homes burned to the ground as the clashes spread to Mrauk-U, a little-visited temple site, and Minbya township, said Hla Thein, attorney-general in Rakhine.

It remains unclear what triggered the latest wave of deadly attacks but tensions remain high after rioting starting in June left nearly 100 dead and thousands of people homeless. The two areas where clashes took place over the past two days were not previously included in a curfew although authorities immediately imposed emergency provisions requiring people to stay indoors between 7 pm and 5 am.

“We have rapidly increased security measures in the two townships to prevent further violence,” said Hla Thein. In a rare press conference on Sunday, President Thein Sein told reporters in the capital Naypyidaw that economic development was needed to help reduce simmering tensions in this remote corner of Myanmar on the border with Bangladesh.

“We need to change our attitude towards them [Rohingyas],” he said. “We cannot only love our own people.” Last week, protests led by Buddhist monks in cities including Yangon and Mandalay prompted the government to block plans by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to set up a liaison office in Myanmar.