Aid shipment disturbed by Buddhist mob in Myanmar west

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - A mob of around 300 Rakhine Buddhists attempted to destroy a ship carrying aids for displaced people in western Rakhine state, Myanmar government said on Thursday.

The riot began when about fifty people forced staff of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to unload the aid from a ship at a jetty in Rakhien state capital Sittway late Wednesday, according to a press release from Office of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

It said eight people have been detained for interrogation after police dispersed a crowd of about 300 people by firing warning shots and water cannons.

A police officer told Anadolu Agency by phone early Thursday that the crowd had thrown home-made Molotov cocktails to the ship while some attacked police with catapults.

“Fortunately, the ship was not seriously damaged by the fire and no police was injured,” said the officer in a condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

He said some people had attacked police. He added that a rumor spread that the aids were only for Rohingya Muslims displaced by the recent events.

“Anti-NGOs sentiment was obviously rising since after the August 25th attacks,” he said, adding that most displaced Rakhine people refused to accept the aids from NGOs.