(This post translates the ongoing YPI and EMG updates of Bengali-Muslim riots in Sittwe.)
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| Yakhine Refugee Family in a Sittwe Buddhist Temple. |
While the rioting Bengali Muslims have been burning and looting Maungdaw and the nearby villages Sittwe the State Capital of Arrakan State was in an uneasy state waiting for the violence to spread there as situations there were slowly turning bad.
First bad news on June 9 at 3 pm was the arrest of two Bengali Children each carrying a large can of petrol into the Sittwe Myoma Bazzar. Their intent was clearly to burn down the Bazzar but the alerted Yakhine neighborhood-watch groups caught them before they could do serious damage and two Benmgali Muslim boys were delivered unharmed to the local police station.
Other bad news was the loitering of various groups of armed-Bengalis near the Nazi Village the major Bengali-Muslim village near Sittwe. The whole town was in a red alert as the situation was so unstable and the Bengali-Muslims became disturbingly restless.
At 4:15 pm on June 9 about 1,000 Bengali-Muslims, from the Tapaing, Bumai, and Thechaung Bengali villages near the Sittwe Airport, armed with swords and sticks had begun to march towards the town. The mob withdrew only after the Security Police fired warning shots over their heads.
But the Bengali mob hadn’t dispersed and from their side of the railway track they were throwing stones at the Security Police taking position on the town side. Those three Bengali Muslim villages are on an outlet to the sea and undesirables from Bangladesh seemed to have infiltrated to stage an attack on the Buddhists in the town during the night.
Buddhist Minority Fled their Nazi Village (June 10, 2012 At Night)
The Buddhist residents of the Nazi Village just outside Sittwe are to abandon the village. The village has more than 2,700 households and only about 280 are native Buddhist Yakhines and the rest are Bengali Muslims.
There are 5 Buddhist monasteries namely Zeya Mingala, Zedi Byin, Sanda Lawka, Dahma Wihara, and Gyit Chaung. By next morning three of the monasteries and most Buddhist residences are burning in the hands of Bengali Muslims. Three Buddhist monasteries burning are Zeya Mingala, Zedi Byin, and Sanda Lawka.
Sittwe still has not an official refugee camp yet but about 5,000 refugees from the nearby Buddhist villages fleeing the riotous Bengali Muslim mob are now staying at various Buddhist monasteries all over the town.
Bomhu Village in Maungdaw Burning (June 11, 2012 At 9:20 am)
The rioting Bengali Muslims are now burning the Bomhu Village in Maungdaw.
Airlines Suspending the Flights (June 11, 2012 At 11:40 am)
Air Kamboza has announced that it is suspending the daily flights between Sittwe and Thandwe for a week due to worsening security situation.
Other airlines namely Air Pagan, Air Mandalay, and Myanmar Airways are still flying their regular flights to the Arrakan State.
Two Yakhine Villages in Danger (June 11, 2012 At 12 pm)
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| Dead Buddhists of Byaing-Phyu. |
Trouble in Maungdaw (June 11, 2012 At 12:10 pm)
The Ward-5 and Bo Mhu Village in Maungdaw are burned down to the ground by the Bengali Muslims this morning. The security forces are there now and situation is under control.
Forty-three male and female teachers currently serving in the Maungdaw schools have been given leave and sent back to their homes outside Maungdaw. Up to 1,000 Buddhist refugees are now in two official refuges just established in Butheedaung.
Water Supply Stopped (June 11, 2012 At 12:25 pm)
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| Old Yakhine Woman Guarding her Buddhist Ward. |
Since the main distribution pipe line to Sittwe goes through the Bengali Village Nazi the town municipal authorities have no choice but to stop the water supply to prevent the poisoning by the Bengali Muslims.
At present the minority Yakhine residents of the Nazi Village were chased away and their properties already destroyed by the Bengali Muslims.
Banks Closed (June 11, 2012 At 1:20 pm)
All the government banks and private banks are closed indefinitely from today due to the worsening security situation.
Thida Htwe Rape-murder Case at Court (June 11, 2012 At 2:10 pm)
The case of rape-murder of Khin Thida Htwe on May 28 was heard as the first day at the Kyauk Phyu Township Court today. Twenty witnesses have attended the court but only three were called before the hearing was adjourned at noon.
The alleged leader of the three-men gang Roshee (a) Htet Htet was said to have committed suicide by hanging in his jail cell in the evening of June 9.
RPG Shells found in the house of INGO Bengali Staffer (June 11, 2012 At 9:15 pm)
Two suspects accused of having links with Al Quaeda are on the run after weapons were found in a house of their co-worker, well-placed sources in Sittwe told YPI by phone.
Those two suspects are Zaw Lin Tun and Hla Shwe who work at MSF-Holland (Artsen Zonder Grenzen - AZG) in Sittwe together with Kyaw Hla Aung from whom two boxes of weapons were seized this morning.
The two boxes that contain guns and ammunition and RPG Shells were found in Kyaw Hla Aung’s house which is situated near a mosque in Ye Nwe Su Quarter of Sittwe. Some documents were also seized together with the weapons.
According to some eyewitnesses, Rock-Propelled Grenades (PRG) are seen in the hands of armed-Bengalis who engage fighting against riot police around Sittwe.
