Buddhists in new clashes with Muslims

A night-time curfew has been imposed in at least two towns in north-western Rakhine state after renewed unrest between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas.

More than 80 people were killed in the area in June. Those clashes were a setback for a quasi-civilian government that has won international plaudits for its political and economic reforms since President Thein Sein took office in March last year, bringing to an end almost 50 years of brutal military rule.

Official media said yesterday that two people had been killed and eight had been injured in the violence since Sunday, while more than 1,000 homes had been burned down. Unconfirmed reports from other sources put the death toll even higher.

Up to 800,000 Rohingyas live in abject conditions along Burma's border with Bangladesh.

Neither country recognises them as citizens, and the Bangladeshi authorities turned away boatloads of Rohingyas fleeing the violence in June. Reuters