Government spokesman Win Myaing said the Muslims were moved from Aung Mingalar quarter in Sittwe to a camp outside the township.

The government claimed the relocation was due to the unfavorable conditions in the area; however, activists say many of the families are dissatisfied, fearing their conditions would go from bad to worse.

A large number of Muslims have been living in Aung Mingalar quarter after their homes were torched by Buddhist mobs last year.

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are believed to have been killed and thousands displaced in recent attacks by extremists.

Myanmar’s government has been accused of failing to protect the Muslim minority.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued separate statements, calling on Myanmar to take action to protect the Rohingya Muslim community against extremists.

Meanwhile, some 1,000 extremist Buddhists have reportedly attacked property belonging to the Muslim community in northwestern Myanmar.

The rampage broke out shortly before Saturday midnight in the town of Kanbalu. Seven Muslim-owned shops and 15 houses were destroyed by the Buddhist mob.

The mob demanded that Myanmar’s police hand over a man suspected of attempting to rape a Buddhist woman.

Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the eighth century.

NTJ/HH