Hundreds of armed Buddhists on motorbikes roam the streets as sectarian violence spreads across Burma and minority Muslims are targeted

Hundreds of Buddhist men on motorcycles waved iron rods and bamboo poles in a northeastern town in Burma today, the latest incident to spill over from simmering religious tensions in the country.

The intimidating display in Lashio came a day after a mosque and a Muslim orphanage were torched after reports that a Muslim man set fire to a Buddhist woman.

Residents said a cinema was burned as the mob sped around the town as part of a new wave of violence targeting the religious minority.

Motorcade: Hundreds of Buddhists on motorcycles armed with sticks patrol in the streets of in Lashio, Burma

The men became angry after rumors spread that a Muslim man had set fire to a Buddhist woman

Many Buddhists and Muslims stayed locked inside their homes and shops were shuttered after Tuesday's violence in the town, near the border with China.
It is the latest region to fall prey to the country's spreading sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

The fresh wave of chaos will reinforce doubts that President Thein Sein's government can or will act to contain the violence and crack down on racial and religious intolerance.
Wednesday morning was quiet, but by afternoon several hundred young men, screaming and waving sticks, roamed the downtown area on motorcycles near the city hall.
A Buddhist monk was seen seated on the back of one of the motorcycles, waving a stick.

Unrest: Burma has been reeling from a series of flare-ups over simmering tensions between Buddhists and Muslims

On another street, the crowd threw rocks at buildings. Many people were too afraid to step outside.
Smoke could be seen over at least one area of town, and local politician Sai Myint Maung said a cinema had been burned and that there were rumors that more troublemakers were gathered on the outskirts of the town.
'The situation has changed 180 degrees. It was quiet the whole day and all of a sudden there is a fire and the situation has changed,' he said.
A 48-year-old man accused of setting fire to a 24-year-old Buddhist woman was arrested, state television reported. It said the man, identified as an Indian Muslim, threw gasoline on the woman.
The man was charged with causing grievous injuries and arson, as well as drug possession due to stimulants found in his pocket, the TV report said. The woman was being treated for burns to her chest, back and hands.
The report did not mention whether any members of Tuesday night's Buddhist mob were arrested, an omission likely to fuel more questions over whether minority Muslims can find justice in overwhelmingly Buddhist Burma.

Arson: People watch a burning mosque in Lashio. There were no reported fatalities after the rioting

An officer from the No. 1 Lashio police station said police had been dispatched by truck to try to quell the new violence. The officer, who did not want to be identified, said at least four people were hurt.

'My family is staying inside. We are afraid of being attacked,' said one Muslim resident, Ko Maung Gyi, who spoke to the Associated Press by telephone earlier from inside his locked home in Lashio's main Muslim neighborhood.

'I never expected that such racial violence would erupt in Lashio,' he said. 'Our small town is multiethnic and we have lived in peace for a long time.'
There were no reported fatalities after Tuesday night's violence in the remote mountain town.

Order was initially restored after authorities banned gatherings of more than five people. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed and many shops and streets were empty, Sai Myint Maung said.

The government has appealed for calm. 'Damaging religious buildings and creating religious riots is inappropriate for the democratic society we are trying to create,' presidential spokesman Ye Htut said on his Facebook page.

People celebrate around the burning mosque. An Islamic school and orphanage were also torched

The message noted that 'two religious buildings and some shops' in Lashio were burned, without specifying whether they were Muslim or Buddhist.
'Any criminal act will be dealt with according to the law,' Ye Htut added.

Minority Muslims have been the main victims of the deadly violence, but so far there have been no criminal trials against members of the country's Buddhist majority.
After the alleged fire attack, an irate crowd of more than 100 people, including Buddhist monks, gathered outside a police station demanding that the alleged attacker be handed over, state TV reported.
The mob also set fire to a Muslim school and orphanage that was so badly damaged only two walls remained, said Min Thein, a resident contacted by telephone. Police and other witnesses confirmed the school burning.

The Burmese government has appealed for claim in the aftermath of the violence

Burma's sectarian violence first flared in western Rakhine state last year, when hundreds of people died in clashes between Buddhists and Muslims that drove about 140,000 others, mostly Muslims, from their homes.
The clashes seemed confined to that region, but in late March, similar Buddhist-led violence swept the town of Meikthila in central Burma, killing at least 43 people.
Earlier this month, a court sentenced seven Muslims from Meikthila to prison terms for their role in the violence.
Muslims account for about four per cent of Burma's roughly 60 million people. Anti-Muslim sentiment is closely tied to nationalism and the dominant Buddhist religion, so leaders have been reluctant to speak up for the unpopular minority.
Thein Sein's administration, which came to power in 2011 after half a century of military rule, has been heavily criticised for not doing enough to protect Muslims.
He vowed last week during a trip to the U.S. that all perpetrators of the sectarian violence would be brought to justice.

DAILYMAIL