56 dead in new ethnic violence in Myanmar

Yangoon, October 26: A government official said 56 people have been killed and almost 2,000 homes burned down in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in western Myanmar.


Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing said today that the 25 men and 31 women were reported dead as of 7 pm local time in four townships in violence that re-erupted Sunday.

He said some 1,900 homes had been burned down in fresh conflict between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities.

Hundreds of homes have been burned in the outburst of unrest in Rakhine state, where Buddhist-Muslim clashes have killed more than 100 people since June and displaced tens of thousands, according to the authorities.

The latest violence led the United Nations to express grave concern over reports of deaths and "thousands" of displaced in recent days.

"The UN is alarmed by reports of displacements and destruction," said UN chief in Yangon, Ashok Nigam, adding that the resurgence of deadly unrest in Rakhine State had "resulted in deaths and has forced thousands of people, including women and children, to flee their homes".