Narinjara News

Dhaka, January 25

Religious riot in Arakan State

A religious riot broke out in a town of Arakan on January 20, leaving at least 3 people dead, said the All Arakan Students and Youths Congress (AASYC).

The three found dead were all Muslims, one of which was a Muslim religious teacher.

The riot broke out near Naga Pariyeti Sathin Thik, a Buddhist monastery of the district town of Kyauk Pru, located in central Arakan State.

According to another source, the riot started after a young Muslim sweeper from a local mosque insulted several Buddhist monks near the monastery.

The sweeper is said to be an informant for the local army station of Kyauk Pru and he was known to insult the local Arakanese people, said Ko Naing Naing from Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), quoting several town's people.

In response to the incident, the town authority has cut off all telephone lines in town for fear of information getting out regarding the riot.

The Rangoon authority has sent a number of police from Akyab, the capital city of Arakan, to Kyauk Pry in order to control the situation.

Arakan is considered a very sensitive state in Burma as there were a number of area religious riots that took place in the last several years.

In the 2001 riot of Akyab, at least 30 people were killed and many properties were destroyed in the incident. #

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