Mobs attack aid workers’ homes in Myanmar

Buddhist-led mobs tore through streets hurling stones at the offices and residences of international aid workers in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state Thursday, prompting the evacuation of almost all non-essential staff, residents and officials said. Some were flown out, others placed under protection at a police guest house. There were no immediate indications anyone was hurt in the violence, which started in the state capital, Sittwe, late Wednesday and picked up again early Thursday, with angry crowds swelling in size from several hundred to more than 1,000. At least one building was looted and three cars damaged, aid workers said on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation. Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, emerged from a half-century of military rule in 2011. But newfound freedoms of expression that accompanied its transition to democracy have given voice to religious hatred, causing violence that has left up to 280 people dead and sent another 140,000 fleeing their homes. Most of the victims have been members of the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. Aid groups that have been providing care for those now living in crowded camps — where they have little access to food, education or health care — have for months faced threats and intimidation by Buddhist Rakhine, hampering their ability to work, according to AP.