Burma clashes force 22,000 to flee homes
More than 22,000 people have been forced to flee the latest flareup between ethnic Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Burma, a leading UN official has said, as victims of the sectarian violence flocked to already packed displacement camps along the country's western coast. Some of those escaping the violence arrived in wooden boats outside the capital of Arakan state, Sittwe, on Sunday and headed to the nearby Thechaung camp, a place already home to thousands of Rohingya who took refuge there after a previous wave of violence in June.
"I fled my hometown, Pauktaw, on Friday because there is no security at all," said 42-year-old fisherman Maung Myint, who arrived on a boat carrying 40 other people, including his wife and six children. "My house was burned to ashes and I have no money left." Another Muslim refugee said she fled her village, Kyaukphyu, on Thursday after attackers set her home on fire. "We don't feel safe," said 40-year old Zainabi, a fish-seller who left with her two teenage sons. "I wish the violence would stop so we can live peacefully." Human Rights Watch released dramatic satellite imagery of Kyaukphyu on Saturday showing a large area of the predominantly Rohingya part of the village in ashes. More than 800 buildings and floating barges were destroyed.
Myanmar's government has put the death toll at 67 over the past week, saying a further 95 were injured in seven townships in Arakan state. The casualty figures have not been broken down by ethnic group, but Human Rights Watch said the Rohingya had suffered the brunt of the violence. The New York-based rights group also said the true death toll may be far higher, based on witness accounts and the government's history of minimising news that might reflect badly on it.
The border affairs minister, Lt General Thein Htay, travelled to the affected areas with the UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator in Burma, Ashok Nigam. Nigam said 22,587 people were displaced, including both Muslims and Buddhists, but he gave no breakdown. Some 4,600 homes were also destroyed, according to the UN, which said in a separate statement that it had begun distributing emergency food and shelter supplies with its humanitarian partners.
The latest unrest pushes the total displaced to nearly 100,000 since clashes broke out in June..
