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Burmese School Fire Kills 13 Boys

Fears that it could be anti-Muslim violence.

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Outside of mosque after fire in Yangon, Myanmar on Tuesday. (Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP)

A fire at an Islamic school in Burma killed 13 boys early Tuesday. Officials blamed the fire on the overheating of a transformer, but some worried it was more complicated—especially as the Buddhist-majority nation has faced a wave of anti-Muslim violence. In March, 43 people died in an outbreak of violence against Muslims, although Yangon, the site of the boys’ school, largely escaped the violence. The boys suffocated when the fire broke out in the dormitory, and neighbors and witnesses said the doors to the dorm may have been locked due to security concerns. A funeral has been planned for Tuesday afternoon.

Read it at Reuters

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