Muslims mosques, homes destroyed in fresh Myanmar attacks

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday the attacks were carried out late on Monday in villages in the Bago region north of the city of Yangon.
 
He added that there have been no reports of casualties in the latest attacks on Muslims in the country.
 
On March 20, extremist Buddhists attacked dozens of houses and mosques in the central town of Meiktila.
 
At least 40 people were killed and 12,000 people were displaced during three days of violence in the town.
 
Vijay Nambiar, the UN's top adviser on Myanmar, toured Meiktila on Sunday and called on the government to punish those responsible for the tragedy.
 
“There is no doubt much of this violence was planned,” Nambiar said.
 
Hundreds of Rohingyas are believed to have been killed and thousands of others displaced in attacks by Buddhist extremists.
 
Buddhist extremists frequently attack Rohingyas and set fire to their homes in several villages in the state of Rakhine. Myanmar army forces have allegedly provided the extremist Buddhists with containers of petrol for torching the houses of Muslim villagers.
 
Myanmar's government has been accused of failing to protect the Muslim minority.
 
Rohingyas, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century, are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin.
 
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued separate statements, calling on Myanmar to take action to protect the Rohingya Muslim population against extremist Buddhists.