Fifteen detained in Malaysia over series of murders linked to Myanmar conflict
Police look at ethnic conflict as possible explanation for killings, in which victims were found with their throats slit or heads and limbs severed
A string of gruesome murders in the popular Malaysian tourist destination Penang has prompted police to detain 15 Myanmese people, as authorities believe the killings are linked to ethnic unrest in Myanmar.
Public anxiety has risen in Malaysia’s historic state Penang over the past few months as mutilated corpses or severed body parts have turned up – with at least 18 mysterious and unexplained murders of Myanmese nationals.
Authorities had made little comment until now but the state’s police chief was quoted today as saying they now believe the killings are linked to Myanmar’s sectarian bloodshed, marked by violent clashes between Muslims and Buddhists.
“We can tell that these are the work of Myanmar nationals. They bring their hatred here from their country of origin,” Abdul Rahim Hanafi was quoted as saying by the Malay Mail. “It was revenge they brought here from their country.”
He said police were still investigating. The report provided little further detail. Penang police could not be immediately reached for comment.
Violent clashes between majority Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya – who the United Nations calls one of the most persecuted minorities in the world – erupted in 2012 in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The violence has left about 200 people dead and up to 140,000, mostly Rohingya, displaced.