L
LequteMan
Guest
Fresh sectarian violence struck northwestern Burma early on Sunday when a 1,000-strong Buddhist mob burned down dozens of Muslim homes and shops following rumors that a young woman had been sexually assaulted by a Muslim man. There were no reports of injuries.
A crowd surrounded the police station late on Saturday and then went on an hours-long rampage after authorities refused to hand over the assault suspect, a police officer from the area said.
About 35 houses and 12 shops - most belonging to Muslims - were destroyed before calm was restored, he said, asking not to be named because he did not have the authority to speak to reporters.
Burma has been grappling with sectarian violence since the country's military rulers handed over power to a nominally civilian government in 2011.
The unrest - which has killed more than 250 people and left 140,000 others displaced - began last year in the western state of Rakhine, where Buddhists accuse the Rohingya Muslim community of illegally entering the country and encroaching on their land.
Almost all of the victims have been Muslims, often attacked as security forces stood by.
The local Daily Eleven newspaper, which had a reporter at the scene, said 1,000 people were involved in the violence.
