Report Says Myanmar Has Lifted Curfew İn Arakan State

Myanmar has lifted a June 2012 curfew imposed throughout western Arakan State when clashes between Buddhists and minority Muslims erupted, killing at least 192 people.



News website Irrawaddy reported that the curfew would be lifted as of today (Thursday) as tensions in the area had eased.



In 2012, clashes ripped through the state capital of Sittwe and other areas, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and impose curfews. Around 140,000 people were driven from their homes.



Waves of anti-Muslim violence have since spread across the country, bringing the total death toll since June 2012 to around 280. 



The violence led to a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine state, where thousands of displaced Rohingya Muslims are confined to squalid camps without adequate access to healthcare.



Faced with desperate conditions and the constant fear of more violence from Buddhist extremists, around 86,000 Rohingya have fled the country on flimsy boats since 2012, according to the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency.



In 1982, the military junta introduced a citizenship law which stripped Rohingya of their citizenship and made them stateless.



Myanmar refuses to recognise Rohingya as its citizens and instead refers to them as "Bengalis."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Yangon