Burma imposes curfew on troubled town

The Burmese Government has imposed a curfew on the town of Hintada to prevent violence between Muslims and Buddhists.

A government spokesman said there had been what he described as an incident, but the situation was now calm.

Unconfirmed reports from the town described rioters setting fire to houses.

Tensions between the two communities are rising, and this is the fourth town in which inter-communal trouble has been reported in recent weeks.

In one recent incident, a Muslim leader said about 200 Buddhist monks had gone on a rampage in the town of Prome, destroying around 40 shops owned by Muslims.

In a statement, the government said it would not condone hate crimes or harassment targeted against Muslims, or any other religion.

But reports from inside Burma say the government is imposing travel restrictions on Muslims.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service