SITTWE, Myanmar — Victims of Myanmar’s latest explosion of Muslim-Buddhist violence fled to already-packed displacement camps along the country’s western coast Sunday, with a top U.N. official saying the unrest has forced more than 22,000 people from their homes.
State television reported the casualty toll has risen to 84 dead and 129 injured over the past week in nine townships in Rakhine state. The figures have not been broken down by ethnic group, but New York-based Human Rights Watch has said Rohingya Muslims bore the brunt of the unrest and that the death toll may be far higher.
On Sunday, boats carrying refugees arrived outside the state capital, Sittwe. The people trudged to the nearby Thechaung camp, a place already home to thousands of Rohingya who took refuge there after a previous wave of violence in June.
Human Rights Watch released dramatic satellite imagery of Kyaukphyu on Saturday showing a vast, predominantly Rohingya swath of the village in ashes. The destruction included more than 800 buildings and floating barges.
There were no reports of new violence Sunday. It was unclear what sparked the latest clashes.
