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One dead in violence at Arakan refugee camp

One man was fatally shot by police in western Burma when violence broke out at a displacement camp, state media reported on Friday.

According to a report in New Light of Myanmar, 30-year-old Shaungshu Arlong was shot and killed on Wednesday night as he “tried to attack a member of the police with his sword”. The report said that police were attempting to disperse a mob that abducted and tortured two young men accused of theft.

The report said that police were notified on Wednesday night that the two had been abducted while shopping at a displacement camp near Hmansi, in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township. It said the two were tied up with rope and “tortured by a mob”.

Police arrived at the scene and fired five warning shots as the mob dragged the detainees into a paddy field. After the warning shots, the mob began attacking the police with rocks, prompting a second round of warning shots, at which point several men wielding swords advanced toward the officers, it continued.

One of the men, Shaungsu Arlong, was shot by police and died on the spot.

Other media outlets have reported that at least 15 people were arrested in relation to the violence. The civilians involved are believed to have been Rohingya Muslims, some living in displacement camps dotting the area since deadly riots erupted in the state in mid-2012.

London-based Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) said in a statement on Friday that “more than 100 security forces” arrived at the camp, and that two other people were seriously injured, but this has not been independently verified.

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