The Myanmar Embassy in Cairo said Tuesday that the violence which flared in the Western Rakhine region in June was not religiously motivated.
The announcement was made in a press conference held in response to protests outside the embassy over the massacre of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma.
The statement attributed the bloody encounters, which left 80 dead and 3,000 houses burned, to the molestation and killing of a Buddhist Rakhine girl on 3 June by three Rohingya Muslims, leading to fighting between the two sides.
The embassy’s spokesperson told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Myanmar hosts four religious sects, and stressed that the clashes were caused by Rakhine-Rohingyan disputes rather than religious feuds.
The spokesperson added that a curfew had been imposed at the scene and a fact-finding panel had been formed. Myanmar is cooperating with the UN to deliver aid to the victims and the perpetrators will be prosecuted, he said.
The embassy official said they understand Egyptians’ reaction to the events, but urged patience.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
