REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Muslims and Buddhists clashed in Myanmar's northern city of Lashio on Tuesday, witnesses said, as a wave of sectarian violence reached a mountainous region near China's border.
Phone lines were down in the city of about 131,000 people and the extent of the violence was unclear. Witnesses reported several large fires and said a mosque and Buddhist monastery appear to have been torched.
The violence followed unrest between Muslims and Buddhists in other parts of Myanmar over the past year, including fighting in the central city of Meikhtila in March that killed at least 44 people, mostly Muslims, and razed several Muslim neighborhoods. About 12,000 people lost their homes.
Lashio, capital of Shan State, had been spared from the religious unrest. Known for its strong Chinese influence, it is about 190 km (120 miles) from Muse, a city on China's border. » | Reporting by Aung Hla Tun and Jared Ferrie; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Pravin Char | Yangon | Tuesday, May 28, 2013
