Two people including a Buddhist
monk were killed and at least three mosques were
destroyed after riots broke out
in a town in central Myanmar, police said on Thursday.
Around 200 people fought in the streets after an argument in
a Muslim-owned gold shop turned violent in Meiktila on Wednesday, according to
a post on Myanmar Police Force's Facebook page.
"One injured monk and Than Myint Naing, 26, who were
being treated for their injuries died from their burns at hospital," it
said.
Police imposed a curfew from evening to early morning to
control the situation.
"People tried to burn down the mosques," one local
police officer said.
The unrest comes amid heightened concerns over
Muslim-Buddhist relations in Myanmar, where communal conflict in the western
state of Rakhine has left at least 180 people dead and more than 110,000
displaced since June 2012.
An initial report on the police Facebook page late on
Wednesday said anger spread after one man was injured during the row in the
gold shop.
The report said a mob then descended on the area and
destroyed some buildings.
It said six people were hospitalised, and that the Buddhist
monk and a Muslim man later died from their injuries. A subsequent police
report omitted the religion of the second man.
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