Buddhists torch homes of Myanmar Muslims

YANGON

A man stands in front of a mosque as it burns in Meikhtila in this March photo. About 1,000 anti-Muslim rioters burned shops and homes in a fresh unrest.

Myanmar authorities detained a dozen rioters yesterday a day after clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the northern region of Sagaing, police said, in the latest widening of sectarian violence in the former military-run state.
 
Witnesses said between 500 and 1,000 Buddhists, some carrying sticks and swords, attacked Muslim houses in Htan Kone village on Aug. 24, setting some buildings on fire. Police and soldiers arrived in the evening and fired into the air to disperse the crowds, they said.

The violence in the rugged region about 665 kilometers from the commercial capital, Yangon, shows how far anti-Muslim anger has spread in the Buddhist-dominated country following spasms of unrest in northeastern Lashio in May, central Meikhtila in March and western Rakhine State last year.

Some Muslims fled to neighboring villages or sheltered in a Muslim school, residents of the area said. More than 200 people have been killed since June last year and 140,000 displaced. The vast majority of victims have been Muslim