Rohingya Muslims in hiding in Myanmar after outbreak of sectarian violence

Terrified Muslims hid in their homes in northwest Myanmar on Monday after armed police dispersed a Buddhist mob that torched houses and surrounded a mosque in the latest outbreak of sectarian tension.

Clashes between majority Buddhists and Muslims have killed at least 237 people and left more than 150,000 homeless since June last year.

The violence threatens to undermine political and economic reforms launched in the two years since a quasi-civilian government replaced a military junta.

The situation in the town of Thandwe was precarious after police restored order by firing shots in the air to break up the mob late on Sunday, said two security sources, who sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Thandwe, 260 km from the capital Yangon, is in Rakhine state, the worst-hit region. As in several previous bouts of communal unrest, a minor disagreement triggered an outpouring of anger, a local Muslim politician said.

“We’re now scared and hiding inside our homes, like the previous times,” Kyaw Zan Hla, chairman of the Kaman Muslim Party, told Reuters by telephone, adding that about 200 people had joined the mob, some wearing masks and carrying flaming torches.