After two people were killed and 14 others were injured in the clashes, authorities declared a curfew on July 3, from 9 pm until 5 am. During those hours, gatherings of five people or more were prohibited.
Now, a shortened curfew will go into effect, from 9 pm to 3 am, according to an officer from the Mandalay Divisional Information Department, who said the situation in the city had calmed.
“We are preparing to release the curfew reduction announcement. We will announce it to the public at about 5 pm today,” he told The Irrawaddy on Monday afternoon.
The curfew covers all seven townships of Mandalay
The Committee to Restore Peace and Stability in Mandalay, an interfaith group that includes community leaders, submitted a request to the divisional government last week to reduce the curfew hours because life was returning to normal in the city.
The change is welcomed by many Mandalay people.
“Until this morning, lines of lorries loaded with goods, overnight highway buses and greengrocers from neighboring towns had to wait at checkpoints until the curfew time was over,” said a resident.
“With the curfew reduced by two hours, they no longer need to waste their time at toll gates,” she added.
