(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - President Thein Sein had declared an emergency in central Myanmar on Friday and deployed army troops to the worst-hit city, Meikhtila, where 32 people were killed and 10,000 mostly Muslim residents were displaced. But even as soldiers restored order there after several days of anarchy in which armed Buddhists torched the city's Muslim quarters, the unrest has spread South toward the capital, Naypyitaw, AP reported.
A Muslim resident of Tatkone, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Meikhtila, said by telephone that a group of about 20 men ransacked a one-story brick mosque there late Sunday night, pelting it with stones and smashing windows before soldiers fired shots to drive them away.
A day earlier, another mob burned down a mosque and 50 homes in the nearby town of Yamethin, state television reported. Another mosque and several buildings were destroyed the same day in Lewei, farther South.
Edginess over the situation spread Monday to the nation's largest city, Yangon, more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) South of Meikhtila, although no actual unrest was apparent.
Rumors circulated that a busy market called Yuzana Plaza would be burned down, leading many shopkeepers to close for the day. In Mingalartaungnyunt, an Eastern suburb of Yangon, more rumors led to additional shop closings and police arrived to secure the area, although no violence took place.
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