YANGON, Mar 20 (AFP): Fighting between Myanmar's military and ethnic Rakhine rebels in Mrauk U, the ancient capital of the Rakhine kingdom, has left at least eight locals injured, scaring tourists and sparking fears that the historical monuments are under threat.
Ethnic and religious tensions divide western Rakhine state, where the army forced out some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims in a brutal crackdown in 2017.
Now the military is waging war against the Arakan Army (AA), which claims to represent ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and has killed 22 officers since early January.
Over the weekend the conflict spread to Mrauk U, renowned for its ancient temples and popular with hardier travellers.
"About eight injured people are still getting treatment at Mrauk U hospital," Aung Than Tun, chairman of Garuna Hlaing Blood Donors Association in Mrauk U, told AFP on Wednesday.
He also confirmed the deaths of two men from a nearby village, who were wounded last week from the fighting.
A British tourist posted videos on Twitter of him and his fiancee exploring the temples on Sunday, clearly worried by the sound of gunfire and explosions outside.
Christopher Caddy told AFP they thought it was just military training -until they came out of one temple and realised the vendors and security had fled.
It suddenly felt "more real", he said, adding that a local arrived on a moped to pick up friends and he told them to get out as well.
As they cycled back to their hotel, they could see soldiers in "combat positions behind the ruins" of a neighbouring pagoda.
