Burma declares emergency in troubled Rakhine State

Burma Sunday declared a state of emergency in the west of Rakhine State following recent bloody developments which killed around 14 people, Burmese official TV, monitored here, reported. Burmese President Thein Sein signed the declaration of emergency following armed confrontations between hundreds of Buddhist and Muslim villagers that killed seven persons over the past two days, the TV added. Violence in Rakhine State is a challenge to the new government which took office last year in the way of decades of military rule. "It is necessary that order and security for citizens be restored urgently especially that violence is on the rise," the TV quoted a government statement as saying. The majority of Rakhine State population are Buddhits. Violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims, which erupted last Sunday, killed 10 Muslims and four Buddhists.