RELIGIOUS STRIFE

Riots Leave Burma Town in Ruins

Buildings ablaze as violence enters day three.

An unknown number are dead in Burma after deadly riots stretched into a third day Friday. The uproar, which began Wednesday, was sparked by an argument between Muslim owners of a gold shop and a Buddhist couple. The violence has left mosques and other religious buildings burning and charred bodies laying in the streets. Journalists are being denied entry into the region, forcing the media to rely on images and updates from social media. Reports on how many have been killed are varied, with state news claiming only five and other reports as many as 20. Tension has been brewing between Burma’s Muslims and Buddhists since the country was liberated from military rule two years ago.