UN condemns Burma violence as death toll rises
posted on Oct 26, 2012 @ 1:41PM
The death toll in western Burma rises to nearly 60 as a result of sectarian violence between Buddhist Rakhines and mostly Muslim Rohingyas. The United Nations has appealed to the both sides to calm. Security forces are struggling to stem Burma's worst communal unrest since clashes in June killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in Rakhine State. The information officer of Rakhine State Government says 56 people, including 31 women, had died and 64 had been wounded as of Wednesday evening. Access to Rakhine State is restricted and information is hard to verify, but witnesses say at least three more people were killed on Thursday. The violence stems from long-running tensions between the Buddhist Rakhine people of the area and the mostly-Muslim Rohingya, an ethnic group originally from Bangladesh considered illegal immigrants by many Burmese. The unrest has spread to several towns, including commercially important Kyaukpyu, where a multi-billion-dollar China-Burma pipeline starts.