Myanmar unrest could develop into ‘terrorism’

YANGON, Myanmar – Communal bloodshed in western Myanmar risks developing into “armed terrorist acts”, the government said Wednesday, October 31 after homemade firearms were used in the latest deadly fighting.

The government said 180 guns were seized during the new wave of conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state, which has killed dozens and seen whole neighbourhoods razed.

It said several people had been arrested on suspicion of making the weapons.

“The clashes between two communities are likely to turn from normal unrest to armed terrorist acts after the security forces were attacked with handmade guns,” the government said, in a statement on the president’s website.

Myanmar said both local and international organisations were “involved” in the conflict, without elaborating on their identities or exact role.

Decades-old animosity between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims exploded in June after the apparent rape and murder of an ethnic Rakhine woman sparked a series of revenge attacks.

The latest clashes have caused more than 32,000 people to flee their homes this month, the United Nations refugee agency said, adding to the 75,000 people already displaced after the earlier fighting. – Agence France-Presse