Muslims in Myanmar’s second-largest city accused police on Saturday
of standing by as a Buddhist mob went on a rampage, torching a school
and other buildings.
Angry mourners, some carrying crude weapons, rioted in Mandalay after
the funeral of a 36-year-old Buddhist victim of the country’s latest
eruption of religious unrest, witnesses said.
A school and dormitory on the outskirts of the city were seen charred and damaged on Saturday.
More than 70 police were here but did nothing, said Win Naing, a
Muslim donor to the school, who watched the attack from his hiding place
in the home of a Buddhist friend.
Win Naing says some of the rioters were armed with sticks, metal pipes and even saws.
A Muslim member of an interfaith group in the city, Zaw Zaw Latt, also witnessed the incident.
Police could have stopped the mob but they did not, he said.
It's believed no children were in the school at the time and there are no reports of injury from the attack.
Several days of violence, sparked by an accusation of rape, have also left one Muslim dead and 14 other people injured.
There has been no immediate comment from police.
At
least 250 people have been killed across Myanmar since 2012 in
Buddhist-Muslim clashes that have cast a shadow over the country's
political reforms.
Police have been accused of inaction in the past and the government has deployed soldiers in some cases to restore order.
A night time curfew has been imposed in Mandalay and nine people have been arrested in connection with the recent violence.
Source: AFP
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