By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– A Buddhist mob killed a 94-year-old Muslim woman and set fire to more than 70 homes Tuesday as sectarian violence once again afflicted Myanmar’s Rakhine state in the immediate wake of a visit by President Thein Sein.

Attacks were reported in several villages on the outskirts of Thandwe, an area where tensions have been mounting for days. Reports expect the number of causalities to continue to rise over the next few days.

Some 700 rioters, wielding swords and other weaponry, flooded the streets in Thabyuchaing, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of coastal Thandwe on Tuesday afternoon, said police officer Kyaw Naing. An elderly Muslim woman was stabbed, and later died from the wounds, in the ensuing clashes. Officer Naing estimated the number of houses set on fire at between 70 and 80.

Smoldering buildings — and several injured Buddhist Rakhines — were seen by The Associated Press in Shwe Hlay. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not have authority to talk to the media, said Linthi was similarly enveloped by rioters.

The two villages are about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from Thandwe.

The visit by Preisdent Thein Sein to the divided region was his first since violence broke out over a year ago. He arrived in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe with a tight security unit early Tuesday morning, and was planning to travel to several more towns, including Maungdaw to the north and, on Wednesday, Thandwe to the south, said a senior official in the president’s office. Whether the plans remain intact has not been revealed yet.

He said Thein Sein “is going there to help find a long-term solution to the problem” and would meet with government officials and residents.

A strongsecurity presence failed to deter the attackers, and witnesses reported that soldiers and police made no efforts to step in. A 6 p.m. curfew was imposed.

Sectarian clashes that began in Rakhine in June 2012 have since evolved into an anti-Muslim campaign that has spread to towns and villages nationwide. So far more than 240 people have been killed and more than 140,000 have left their homes. The vast majority of them are Muslims.

Thein Sein, who has been otherwise praised for making efforts to transition from half a century of harsh military rule, has been criticized for failing to contain the unrest and protect the country’s embattled Muslim minority.

Many of those targeted so far have been ethnic Rohingya Muslims, considered by many in the country to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh, though many of their families arrived generations ago. But in this latest incident, the victims were Kamans, another Muslim minority group, whose citizenship has been long recognized.

The trouble began Saturday, when a Buddhist taxi driver alleged he’d been verbally abused by a Muslim shop owner while trying to park his vehicle. Hours later, rocks were thrown at the man’s home. By Sunday anger spread through the village, and two houses, owned by Muslims, were burned to the ground.

The violence has proven to be a major challenge for Sein’s government, which rights groups say has done little to crack down on the religious intolerance. Rights groups attest that he has failed to bridge a divide that has left hundreds of thousands of Muslims marginalized, many of them trapped in prison-like camps for those who have been “displaced.”

For more information, please see:

Reuters– Myanmar security forces battle to quell deadly sectarian unrest — 1 October 2013

Times of India– Buddhist mob kill 1, torch 70 homes in Myanmar — 1 October 2013

Herald Sun– Fresh unrest in Myanmar kills four — 1 October 2013

ABC News– Myanmar Hit by Fresh Round of Sectarian Violence — 1 October 2013

Bangkok Post– Violence shakes western Myanmar — 1 October 2013