Source: CNN
Yangon, Myanmar (CNN) — Buddhist monks and others armed with swords and machetes Friday stalked the streets of a city in central Myanmar, where sectarian violence that has left about 20 people dead has begun to spread to other areas, according to local officials.
Members of the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Meiktila township have clashed this week after a dispute between a Muslim gold shop owner and two Buddhist sellers Wednesday ignited simmering communal tensions.
Rioters have set fire to houses, schools and mosques, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes amid unrest that had echoes of sectarian troubles that killed scores of people in western Myanmar last year.
Late Friday night, President Thein Sein announced on state television that four townships in the affected region are under a state of emergency.
The United Nations and the United States have expressed concern about the violence in the lakeside city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mandalay.