Myanmar army blames Rohingya for mosque blast

By AFP
25 September 2017
Myanmar army blames Rohingya for mosque blast
(File) A Muslim woman walks in front of the local mosque in the Aung Mingalar quarter in Sittwe, western Myanmar, 27 October 2012. Photo: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA

Myanmar's army chief on Saturday blamed Rohinyga terrorists for an explosion outside a mosque in Rakhine state.
On Saturday Myanmar's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing posted a statement on Facebook saying Rohingya terrorists planted a "home-made mine" that exploded in between a mosque and madrasa in northern Rakhine's Buthidaung township on Friday.
The army chief accused the terrorists of trying to drive out around 700 hundred villagers who have remained in Mi Chaung Zay.
"As our villagers did not want to leave their homes, the terrorists blew up the bomb during the prayer time as a way of terrorizing the villagers," the army chief's statement said.
"It is the act of ARSA terrorist group," it added, using an acronym for the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army whose raids on police posts in August triggered the military backlash.
No one was reported injured in the explosion.
© AFP