MANDALAY — Five people were injured during clashes between Buddhists and Muslims that broke out in Mandalay on Tuesday night, a senior police official says.
Lt-Col Zaw Min Oo of the Mandalay Police Force said three Buddhists, one Muslim and one police officer were hurt during rioting in Burma’s second-biggest city.
“They are hospitalized and not in serious condition, and an investigation is under way to punish anyone involved,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“We used rubber bullets to fire three warning shots to disperse the crowd last night,” he added.
More than 1,000 police had been deployed to stop the riots.
Despite attacks on Muslim-owned properties in the city, the rioting caused relatively less destruction compared with previous religious violence elsewhere in Burma. According to police officers, 11 cars were damaged while some homes and shops were pelted with stones. No religious buildings were destroyed.
On Wednesday afternoon, the normally busy downtown area was quiet, with shops closed and barricades set up. Heavy security forces were deployed along 26th Street, near the scene of the rioting.
Businesses were open in other parts of the city.
“We want a normal life and we don’t want any trouble,” a Mandalay resident told The Irrawaddy.
“If something bad happens, all people here in Mandalay will surely suffer. Plus, it could hurt the image of our city.”
