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Aid
workers for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
unload emergency supplies for cyclone victims
in Myanmar.
U.N.
staff members working in the country's Rakhine state
will be temporarily relocated following a
conflict between
Buddhist
and Muslim groups that left at least 17 people dead.
Photo
by: UNHCR
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The United Nations is temporarily
relocating some of its staff members in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where a spate
of violence has left at least 17 people dead.
The relocation is on a voluntary
basis and covers nonessential local and international staff of U.N.
agencies, affiliated organizations and their families, BBC reports, citing a
U.N. statement. It was announced after Myanmar President Thein Sein declared a
state of emergency in Rakhine on Sunday (June 10).
The state of emergency was imposed in
response to heightened ethnic and religious conflict between Buddhist and
Muslim groups in the province, which is located in western Myanmar near the country’s
border with Bangladesh. Tensions here flared after a June 4 attack on a bus
carrying Muslim passengers. The attack was reportedly fueled by anger among
Buddhist groups over the murder and rape of a Buddhist woman last month.
The decision to relocate U.N. staff
members was made for safety reasons as reports from news agencies and U.N.
employees suggest the unrest is making it hard for aid workers to continue
operating in Rakhine, said Ashok Nigam, the U.N. humanitarian and resident
coordinator in Yangon, according to CNN.
U.N. staff members who have opted for
relocation are being moved to Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. The United
Nations said it has requested “full government support for the safety and
security” of U.N. and international nongovernmental organization employees
while they are being moved out of Rakhine.
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