Rights groups flay Myanmar ethnic violence

A government spokesman for the region affected by almost a week of ethnic strife said the area was calm Saturday.Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing said no new clashes were reported between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.Human rights organizations insisted, however, that Myanmars government act more strongly to end the spasms of killing and destruction in the area. Human Rights Watch said the Rohingya are under vicious attack and in urgent need of government protection.It released satellite photos showing extensive destruction in a predominantly Rohingya area of one of the townships where violence was reported this past week.Myanmar state television reported Friday night that 67 people died, 95 were injured and 2,818 houses were burned down from Sunday through Thursday in seven of Rakhines townships.The casualty figures have not been broken down by ethnic group. Human Rights Watch said the Rohingya had suffered the brunt of the violence.It said the true death toll may be higher, based on witness accounts and the governments history of minimizing news that might reflect badly on it.These latest incidents between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists demonstrate how urgent it is that the authorities intervene to protect everyone, and break the cycle of discrimination and violence, Amnesty Internationals Asia-Pacific deputy director, Isabelle Arradon, said in a statement.In June, ethnic violence in Rakhine killed at least 90 people and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. About 75,000 people have been living in refugee camps since then. Curfews have been in place in some areas since the earlier violence and were extended this past week.Ill will between the two ethnic groups goes back decades, and discrimination against the Rohingya was encouraged by Myanmars previous military regimes to enlist popular support among other groups.