Myanmar in turmoil, emergency declared
23 March 2013 5:51 AM IST
Myanmar declared a state of emergency on Friday for a riot-hit town where 20 people have been killed in Buddhist-Muslim violence that has sparked fears of spreading unrest.
Swathes of Meiktila, located 130 kilometres north of the capital Naypyidaw, have been reduced to ashes as the authorities struggle to establish control after three days of clashes and arson.
‘At least 20 people have been killed. We estimate that it could be higher but it is also difficult for us to gather all the figures,’ a police officer who did not want to be named told reporters.
The president’s office said the state of emergency would enable the military to help restore order. The situation was extremely tense today with groups of men, including Buddhist monks , armed with knives and sticks prowling the streets. Many of the town’s Muslim residents have fled their homes.
A journalist saw the incinerated remains of two victims on a roadside, just one of several reports of bodies in the town, as flames raged from torched mosques and houses while other buildings smouldered unattended.
‘The situation is getting worse,’ a local resident said. ‘People are destroying buildings. Many people have been killed. We are scared and trying to stay safe at home.’ A group of reporters were stopped at knife-point by a gang of young men and monks and forced to hand over their camera memory cards, according to one of the journalists. It is the worst communal violence since a wave of clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine.
Swathes of Meiktila, located 130 kilometres north of the capital Naypyidaw, have been reduced to ashes as the authorities struggle to establish control after three days of clashes and arson.
‘At least 20 people have been killed. We estimate that it could be higher but it is also difficult for us to gather all the figures,’ a police officer who did not want to be named told reporters.
The president’s office said the state of emergency would enable the military to help restore order. The situation was extremely tense today with groups of men, including Buddhist monks , armed with knives and sticks prowling the streets. Many of the town’s Muslim residents have fled their homes.
A journalist saw the incinerated remains of two victims on a roadside, just one of several reports of bodies in the town, as flames raged from torched mosques and houses while other buildings smouldered unattended.
‘The situation is getting worse,’ a local resident said. ‘People are destroying buildings. Many people have been killed. We are scared and trying to stay safe at home.’ A group of reporters were stopped at knife-point by a gang of young men and monks and forced to hand over their camera memory cards, according to one of the journalists. It is the worst communal violence since a wave of clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine.
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