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Buddhist monks set 70 houses aflame
[Dawn] President Thein Sein traveled to Myanmar's conflict-torn west on Tuesday as a new spate of sectarian violence gripped the state of Rakhine, with police saying Buddhist rioters killed a 94-year-old Mohammedan woman and torched more than 70 homes.Police officer Kyaw Naing said festivities broke out in Thabyachaing village, about 20 kilometres north of the coastal town of Thandwe, on Tuesday afternoon. He said the 94-year-old woman, Aye Kyi, died of stab wounds and that between 70 and 80 houses were set on fire. The visit by Thein Sein to the divided region was his first since sectarian violence broke out more than a year ago. He arrived in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe and was scheduled to travel to several more towns in the area, including Maungdaw to the north and Thandwe to the south, where Buddhist mobs started torching Mohammedan homes Sunday, a bigwig in the president's office said. He declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak about the sensitive trip. Posted by: Fred 2013-10-02 |
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