“They’ve been living in this neighborhood for years”: Officials clear Mingala Taungnyunt residents accused of housing ‘illegal Bengalis’

One resident was severely beaten and had to be taken to the hospital.
One resident was severely beaten and had to be taken to the hospital.

A search through the house in Mingala Taungnyunt that was supposedly housing ‘illegal’ Rohingya Muslims has turned up empty, an official confirmed to Kumudra.

A confrontation between Muslims and Buddhists in the neighborhood last night left one citizen injured after Buddhist nationalists demanded to search an apartment that they claim was hiding ‘illegal Bengalis.’ Police eventually arrived and fired two warning shots to disperse the crowd. No arrests were made.

When officials inspected the apartment which belongs to 47-year-old Daw Win, a real estate broker, they found nothing to substantiate the claims. “The people living in the house are listed in the house registry. They’ve been living in this neighborhood for years,” Mingala Taungnyunt MP Hla Htay confirmed to Kumudra.

According to Frontier, Daw Win recognized two of the civilians who entered her apartment; she had had a dispute over a broker fee with one of them just a few days prior. On social media, at least one nationalist activist posted a call a few days ago for people to come to the neighborhood, suggesting the gathering was planned.

The group was apparently headed by monks from the anti-Muslim nationalist Ma Ba Tha movement. Less than two weeks ago, two Muslim schools in Thaketa township were forced to shut down after a similar Buddhist-nationalist crowd claimed that the schools were illegally holding prayers.

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