Hundreds of police officers restored order in Central Myanmar today after a fresh outbreak of sectarian violence in which one man was killed after Buddhist mobs trashed property owned by Muslims following a minor street incident.
In all, 10 people were injured in Oakkan and nearby villages, just 97 kilometres (60 miles) north of commercial capital Yangon, and one died of a head wound, according to the deputy police commissioner.
Police arrested 18 people who had been charged with theft, assault and arson as well as gathering a mob.
Tension has remained high, and state television said the latest unrest was started when an 11-year old novice monk was hit by a Muslim woman while collecting alms in Oakkan. Other reports said the two had bumped into each other in the street.
Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that mobs had tried to set houses on fire in the Oakkan area and 77 were damaged.
“An unknown group came to our village and we tried to stop them from here, but we couldn’t. And they started to throw stones at the Muslim houses,” said 66-year old Buddhist resident Saw Aung.
Despite the presence of police in the village, about 100 Muslims had chosen to stay camped out in the woods with what belongings they had managed to salvage.
“Muslim residents can return to their houses, but they don’t go back home because they are still scared. They are safe now and we used more than 400 police officers without military forces,” said Yangon’s deputy police commissioner, Thet Lwin.
Sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Muslims, who make up about 5 per cent of Myanmar’s population, have erupted on several occasions since a quasi-civilian government took power in March 2011 after five decades of brutal military dictatorship.