Photos: Accusations of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar
April 9, 2013
Smoke rises as people look on in Meikhtila on March 21, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
Buildings around a mosque burn in Meikhtila on March 21, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
People carry weapons during riots in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
Armed Myanmar police officers provide security around a smoldering building following ethnic unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in Meikhtila, Mandalay division, about 340 miles north of Yangon, Myanmar on March 21, 2013. Few imagined Myanmar would embrace democracy when the U.S. began its historic engagement with the military regime. The country's rapid changes were lauded by visiting Western leaders, and the nation's president was hailed as a hero. But spasms of spreading, communal violence show the reform path is bumpier that expected and have taken the sheen off a foreign policy success of the Obama administration's first term. (AP File Photo) ( Myanmar-Troubled Transition )
Riot policemen form up near a fire during riots in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 2011 when 49 years of military rule ended. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
U Tun Win looks out from his burned guest house on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165665726 )
A Burmese woman walks past a devastated neighborhood on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence after began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165664924 )
In this combination of satellite images released by Human Rights Watch on Monday, April 1, 2013, a residential area in Meikhtila, Myanmar, is shown on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, top, and on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. New York-based Human Rights Watch released before and after satellite images showing the destruction of entire neighborhoods in recent riots. (AP Photo/Human Rights Watch/EUSI/DigitalGlobe and ASTRIUM) ( Myanmar Riot )
Police stand in front of a mosque and school dormitory that were damaged by a fire in Yangon on April 2, 2013. An electrical fire at an Islamic school in Myanmar's biggest city killed 13 children early on Tuesday, authorities said. The children, all boys, died of suffocation in the fire at the dormitory of a school next to the mosque in Yangon at about 2:40 a.m., neighbors and officials said. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-FIRE/ )
A Muslim man cleans the room of the Islamic school, where 13 boys were killed by fire in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital Yangon on April 3, 2013. Security has been tightened in parts of Myanmar's biggest city and former capital Yangon after the fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys in the dormitory of the school on Tuesday. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
A muslim man stands inside the burned mosque during the clean up that continues on April 3, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. The deadly fire at the mosque in Rangoon, which happened in the early morning hours on April 2, killed at least 13 children who were sleeping. Officials say the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring. Tensions in the muslim community remain high after recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead and many injured, with thousands of muslims left homeless. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165342720 )
Muslim men pray at the Islamic school in where 13 boys were killed by a fire in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital Yangon April 3, 2013. Security has been tightened in parts of Myanmar's biggest city and former capital Yangon after the fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys in the dormitory of the school on Tuesday. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
A sign is burned inside a mosque showing the prayer times on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence after began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165698136 )
People gather near a mosque that was damaged in a fire in Yangon on April 2, 2013. A fire at an Islamic school in Yangon killed 13 children in the early hours of Tuesday in what officials said could have been an accident, but comes in the aftermath of a wave of violence against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The children, all boys, suffocated after the fire broke out in a dormitory of the school next to the mosque in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital at about 2:40 a.m., neighbors and officials said. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-FIRE/ )
Police stand near a mosque and school dormitory that were damaged by a fire in Yangon on April 2, 2013. An electrical fire at an Islamic school in Myanmar's biggest city killed 13 children early on Tuesday, authorities said. The children, all boys, died of suffocation in the fire at the dormitory of a school next to the mosque in Yangon at about 2:40 a.m., neighbors and officials said. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-FIRE/ )
Buddhist monks walk past a police line and security personnel near an Islamic school where 13 boys were killed after a fire on Tuesday, in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital Yangon April 3, 2013. Security has been tightened in parts of Myanmar's biggest city and former capital Yangon after the incident. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
A Burmese muslim peers out from the gate of a local mosque on April 3, 2013 in Yangon, Myanmar. A deadly fire at a mosque in Rangoon, which happened in the early morning hours on April 2, killed at least 13 children who were sleeping. Officials say the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring. Tensions in the muslim community remain high after recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead and many injured, with thousands of muslims left homeless. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165342892 )
Soldiers clean debris in Meikhtila on March 24, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 2011 when 49 years of military rule ended. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
A woman looks through the window of a building opposite an Islamic school, where 13 boys were killed in a fire, in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital Yangon on April 3, 2013. Security has been tightened in parts of Myanmar's biggest city and former capital Yangon after the fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys in the dormitory of the school on Tuesday. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
A Burmese man walks by destroyed buildings on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence after began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165698351 )
A Buddhist woman cries for her home that was burned down during the riot in Meikhtila on March 23, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
Burmese woman looks for anything to salvage among debris left by a fire on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence after began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165702211 )
Burmese boys stand near their destroyed home covered with charcoal on April 5, 2013 in Meiktila, Myanmar. Recent sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in March left 43 people dead, with large areas of the town completely destroyed by fires and looting, while many were injured with thousands of Muslims now homeless. Many Muslims who had money fled as the violence after began to spin out of control while the remaining people are being kept in well policed IDP camps in the town. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) ( 165698137 )
A woman stands behind a police line near a mosque and school dormitory that were damaged by a fire in Yangon April 2, 2013. An electrical fire at an Islamic school in Myanmar's biggest city killed 13 children early on Tuesday, authorities said. The children, all boys, died of suffocation in the fire at the dormitory of a school next to the mosque in Yangon at about 2:40 a.m., neighbors and officials said. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun ( MYANMAR-FIRE/ )
A mother, right, of a mosque fire victim weeps during the burial of her son on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. A fire engulfed a mosque housing Muslim schoolchildren in Myanmar's largest city on Tuesday, killing at least 13. Police, anxious over sectarian violence that has shaken the nation, blamed an electrical short circuit for the blaze and said they were investigating mosque authorities for possible negligence. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) ( Myanmar Mosque Fire )
People react as the bodies of victims of a fire are brought for their funeral at Yaeway cemetery in Yangon on April 2, 2013. Thousands of Muslims attended the funeral for the 13 victims of the fire that broke out in a dormitory of an Islamic school in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital. The fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys at the school in Yangon on Tuesday, the fire service said. REUTERS/Minzayar ( MYANMAR-FIRE/ )
Policemen stand guard in front of the Islamic school after a fire broke out at the school in downtown Yangon early April 2, 2013. Thirteen people, including children, were killed after a fire broke out in a Muslim school in Yangon due to a suspected electrical fault, police in Myanmar's main city said. AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN ( 518591517 )
Muslim men gather in front of a mosque heavily damaged during recent violence in the town of Gyo Bin Gauk, some 93 miles north of Yangon on April 4, 2013. Officially, 43 people died in the recent anti-Muslim violence, which erupted in Meikhtila in the centre of the country on March 20, 2013 and included the fire-bombing of mosques. It spread to at least 15 other towns and villages until President Thein Sein ordered soldiers and police to crack down. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
Aung Myint Mo, a 22-year-old Muslim man, sits in front of a house damaged during recent violence in the town of Sit Kwin, some 150 km (93 miles) north of Yangon April 4, 2013. Officially, 43 people died in the recent anti-Muslim violence, which erupted in Meikhtila town in the centre of the country on March 20, 2013 and included the fire-bombing of mosques. It spread to at least 15 other towns and villages until President Thein Sein ordered soldiers and police to crack down. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
A man looks up at the room of the Islamic school where 13 boys were killed by a fire in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital Yangon on April 3, 2013. Security has been tightened in parts of Myanmar's biggest city and former capital Yangon after the fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys in the dormitory of the school on Tuesday. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj ( MYANMAR/ )
Policemen stand guard in front of the Islamic school after a fire broke out at the school in downtown Yangon early April 2, 1013. Thirteen people, including children, were killed after a fire broke out in a Muslim school in Yangon due to a suspected electrical fault, police in Myanmar's main city said. AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN ( 518591530 )
An Islamic school is seen damaged in Meikhtila on March 26, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Minzayar ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
A Muslim woman salvages items from her home damaged in riots in Meikhtila on March 26, 2013. Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country's historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Minzayar ( MYANMAR-VIOLENCE/ )
A man stands by a window in the Islamic school after a fire broke out in downtown Yangon early April 2, 2013. Thirteen people, including children, were killed after a fire broke out in a Muslim school in Yangon due to a suspected electrical fault, police in Myanmar's main city said. AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN ( 518591610 )
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