Bloody Ethnic Violence Erupts in Myanmar

June 11, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Myanmar government has imposed a state of emergency in the western state of Rakhine after three days of riots left seven people dead. Army troops have been deployed to quell violence between majority Buddhists and Muslims, including Rohingya migrants. As the situation flared up, the UN said it was relocating its staff from the region. Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports from Bangkok in neighboring Thailand.

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Rohingya

The Rohingya people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak a language very similar to Bengali and practise Islam. The origin of this group of people is disputed with some saying they are indigenous to the state of Rakhine in Burma and others contending that they are Muslim m... Explore this topic

Rakhine State

Rakhine State is a state in Burma. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located a... Explore this topic

Myanmar

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by China, Thailand, India, Laos and Bangladesh. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Its population o... Explore this topic

State of emergency

A state of emergency is a governmental declaration which usually suspends a few normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can a... Explore this topic

Thein Sein

Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and former military commander who has been President of Burma since March 2011. He was the Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011 and considered by some as a moderate and reformist in the post-junta government. His new government undertook a ser... Explore this topic

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to buildings, wildland areas, vehicles or other property with the intent to cause damage. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires. Arson often involves fires... Explore this topic

Ethnic violence

Ethnic violence refers to violence expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict . It is commonly related to political violence, and often the terms are interchangeable, or one is used as a pretext for the other when politically expedient. Ethnic violence is a catch... Explore this topic

Statelessness

Statelessness, a legal concept describing the lack of any nationality, is the absence of a recognized link between an individual and any state. A de jure stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". A de facto s... Explore this topic

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable o... Explore this topic

Politics of Myanmar

Burma is a unitary presidential constitutional republic under its 2008 constitution. Explore this topic

Also See

Rohingya

Rakhine State

Myanmar

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