UN pulls non-essential staff from west of country
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Fighting that began Friday 8 June between Muslims and Buddhists in western Myanmar/Burma is being called “the worst communal violence since a reformist government replaced a junta last year” by Yahoo News/Reuters. Fighting broke out between rival ethnic groups in Sittwe, in the northwest of the country, but Irrawaddy, a news service that covers the region, says that police began cleaning up Monday: 7 people are known to have died and hundreds of homes have reportedly been burned.
The European Union said it was pleased with the government’s restrained response, but the United Nations said Monday it was pulling out non-essential staff from Rakhine state as a precaution.
Links to other sites: BBC, Deutsche Welt
