Motorcycles destroyed during violence in Lashio yesterday.
LASHIO: One person was killed and four were wounded yesterday in a fresh outbreak of religious violence in eastern Myanmar, a senior government official said.
Police fired warning shots to disperse rioters after Buddhist-Muslim clashes in the town of Lashio in Shan state, presidential spokesman Ye Htut said, adding one man was “hacked to death”.
As Religious violence shook the country for a second day, as residents called for security reinforcements after a Muslim orphanage, mosque and shops were burned down.
The government appealed for calm after the unrest, the latest in a series of outbreaks of sectarian strife that pose a major challenge to the reformist leaders following the end of decades of military rule.
Residents said mobs armed with sticks were roaming the streets of Lashio town in Shan State looking for Muslims, while two houses were set on fire.
Hospital sources said they had received four people with slash wounds but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Police earlier claimed the situation was “under control” after an overnight curfew was imposed on Tuesday after the initial unrest, which authorities said was triggered by an attack on a Buddhist woman.
Tension remained high as dusk approached, with Muslim residents fearing another night of violence and describing a 30-strong group of armed men on motorcycles cruising Lashio and shouting anti-Muslim slogans.
Another Muslim called for more soldiers to enforce the curfew, saying the mob of bikers was threatening to “kill any Muslims they see on the road”.
“The security is not enough... We are running for our lives,” he added. “I have no idea what the township authorities are doing. I’m scared.”
Presidential spokesman Ye Htut appealed for an end to the violence, saying on his Facebook page that “it had no place in the democratic society we are trying to establish”. AFP
