London: Burmese authorities have imposed a night-time curfew in at least two towns in western Rakhine state as inter-communal violence continues to spread in the nation.
Clashes between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists have been reportedly escalating, killing at least four people and burning down more than 1,000 houses since the violence started on Monday.
Rakhine state spokesman Myo Thant said the fighting had now spread to the townships of Kyauk Phyu and Myebon, south of the state capital Sittwe, the BBC reports.
"Houses are burning and clashes between the two communities are ongoing. The most important thing is to put out the fires. We are trying to control the situation,” he said.
According to the report, tensions have remained high in Rakhine state since May when a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered by three Muslims.
A mob later killed 10 Muslims in retaliation, although they were unconnected with the earlier incident and the violence escalated after that, the report said.
In June, 90 people were killed as religious clashes spread across the state. Muslims throughout Myanmar have also apparently abandoned plans to celebrate the festival of Eid al-Adha because of violence, the report added.
ANI
