Myanmar counts cost of a weekend of mob violence

12/06/12 01:03 CET

world news

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A tense calm hangs over northwest Myanmar after a weekend of sectarian violence left eight people dead, many wounded and widespread destruction.

Rival mobs of Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Rakhine state town of Maungdaw, which then spread to Sittwe prompting police to declare a state of emergency and a dawn to dusk curfew.

The unrest was sparked by the alleged rape and murder of a Buddhist girl by three Muslims and the lynching of ten Muslims in retaliation.

The region has been plagued by long-standing tensions between the two groups.

The violence poses one of the biggest tests to the new reformist government as the country returns to the international fold after years of economic and diplomatic isolation.

More about: Myanmar, Religious conflict

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