Myanmar, (APP/AA): A mob of around 300 Rakhine Buddhists have attempted to destroy a ship carrying aids for displaced people in western
Rakhine state, Myanmar government said on Thursday.
The riot began when about fifty people forced staff of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to unload the aid from a ship at a jetty in Rakhine state capital Sittway.
Eight people have been detained for interrogation after police dispersed a crowd comprising around 300 people by firing warning shots and water cannons.
A police officer told early Thursday that the crowd had thrown home-made Molotov cocktails to the ship while some attacked police with catapults.
"Fortunately, the ship was not seriously damaged by the fire and no police was injured," said the officer.
He said some people had attacked police. He added that a rumor spread that the aids were only for Rohingya Muslims displaced by the recent events.
"Anti-NGOs sentiment was obviously rising since after the August 25th attacks," he said, adding that most displaced Rakhine people refused to accept the aids from NGOs.