Five hurt, shops and mosque damaged in Myanmar violence

Five people have been injured in clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay. The incident was apparently triggered by a claim that a Buddhist woman had been raped by one or more Muslim men. Armed groups gathered on the streets on Tuesday evening, hurling rocks and bricks and damaging shops. They only dispersed early on Wednesday morning when the police fired rubber bullets. Myanmar has seen several outbreaks of violence targeting Muslims since 2012. Muslims are a minority group in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. Jonah Fisher says tensions rose when a blogger posted that a Buddhist woman had been raped. The post was then shared by one of Mandalay's most controversial monks - Ashin Wirathu - on his Facebook page. Wirathu is the leader of the controversial 969 group and was previously jailed for inciting religious hatred. The 969 group are opposed to what they see as Islam's expansion in Myanmar. On Tuesday evening, a group of Buddhists gathered in a Muslim area of Mandalay, ransacking shops and burning vehicles. Throughout the night, the police kept angry groups of Buddhist and Muslim men apart. Both sides were armed with primitive weapons including iron rods, sticks and swords. Four rioters and a policeman were hurt. Muslim shops were damaged and the windows of a mosque were smashed. In a statement on Wednesday, Mandalay police said a man had been charged with rape, according to BBC.