SITTWE,
Myanmar: International pressure mounted
for an end to sectarian violence in western Myanmar, where armed police on
Tuesday patrolled a flashpoint region devastated by rioting and arson.
The
United States urged an immediate halt to the deadly sectarian unrest, which has
prompted the United Nations to evacuate foreign workers from Rakhine state, now
under a state of emergency.
Small
arms fire echoed on Tuesday around the state capital Sittwe, according to an
AFP reporter, while plumes of smoke rose above the coastal city as Rohingya
villagers fled their homes.
At
least seven people have died since Friday, according to officials, in a cycle
of apparent revenge attacks that presents a major test of fragile political
reforms since army rule ended last year.
Rights
organisations fear the real toll could be much higher with one advocacy group
which works with the Rohingya, The Arakan Project, saying dozens of people had
been killed.
AFP
could not verify the figure and its team of reporters has been unable to visit
many of the affected areas for security reasons.
US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called for "all parties to
exercise restraint", adding the "the United States continues to be
deeply concerned" about the situation.
The
United Nations has begun pulling out more than 40 workers -- including
foreigners -- and their families from a base in Maungdaw, an area home to large
numbers of Rohingya where clashes have also been reported.
Warning
that the violence is running "out of control", New York-based Human
Rights Watch called for international observers to be deployed in Rakhine.
"Why
is the international community pulling out at this time? Is the threat at a
level that warrants it?" said Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW's
Asia division.
"The
government of Burma has thrown a black veil over the situation in Rakhine
state," he told AFP.
Rakhine,
a predominantly Buddhist state bordering Bangladesh, is home to a large number
of Muslims including the Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of
the world's most persecuted minorities.
The
Myanmar government considers the Rohingya to be foreigners, while many citizens
see them as illegal immigrants and view them with hostility, describing them as
"Bengalis".
Rioting
has seen hundreds of homes torched across the state.
Buddhist
women and children from outlying villages have taken refuge in monasteries
inside Sittwe, according to an AFP reporter in the city, while a Rohingya village
was torched on Tuesday morning forcing residents to leave for safety under an
escort from security forces.
An
ethnic Rakhine fireman said some Rohingya villagers had been injured as they
escaped burning homes.
"We
don't know who set the fires. We all have sympathy for them (the Rohingya). We
saw women and children running for their lives. We are all humans," he
added, but asked not to be named.
Around
100 other Rohingya attempting to escape over the frontier were turned back as
they tried to cross a river, Bangladesh border forces said, the second straight
day boats have been repelled from landing on its territory.
The
violence poses a serious challenge to Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein,
as the nation takes tentative steps towards democracy after decades of
authoritarian rule.
A
commentary published on Tuesday in the New Light of Myanmar warned continued
ethnic strife could also put the unity of the country in jeopardy.
Under
the headline "A single spark may well set the whole hillside on
fire", the piece urged unity across Myanmar's dozens of ethnic groups.
Animosity
between local Buddhists and the Rohingya appears increasingly intractable with
both sides trading angry accusations over the surge in violence, much of it
playing out over social networking websites.
Experts
say more radical elements on both sides may be trying to benefit from the
unrest.
"Some
... probably want to see the Rohingya purged from Burmese soil. Others would
tolerate a situation where the Rohingya are forced to accept subordinate
status," said Nicholas Farrelly, a southeast Asia expert at the Australian
National University.
"On
the other side, there are Rohingya who want the world to pay much more
consistent attention to their plight. They may consider this flare-up of
violence serves that purpose."
According
to the UN, there are nearly 800,000 Rohingya in Myanmar, mostly in Rakhine.
Another one million or more are thought to live in other countries.
-
AFP/al
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