Curfew Lifted as Stability Returns to Mandalay

By Zarni Mann 11 August 2014

MANDALAY — A nighttime curfew in Mandalay will be lifted starting Monday as stability has returned more than five weeks after inter-communal violence raged in the city, a senior local official said.

A 9pm-5am curfew was imposed in Burma’s second city on July 3 after violence between Buddhists and Muslims on the preceding two nights resulted in the deaths of two people. The curfew was reduced on July 28 to 9pm-3am and changed again days later to begin at 10pm.

“The stability of the city is improving and we believe the curfew is no longer needed,” Mandalay Division’s Chief Minister Win Zaw Naing told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

“That’s why we decided to lift the curfew starting from today.”

According to police, more than 50 people have been arrested over the riots and are facing various charges including weapons possession and creating unrest.

Nearly 20 people who were involved in an attack with sticks, rods and swords on the Kyarnikan cemetery in a Muslim neighborhood were sentenced in recent weeks to prison terms ranging from two to four years.

“The suspects for the murder cases are still in custody, and we cannot give details of them yet,” said a duty officer from the Mandalay divisional police office.