Toll rises in Myanmar from clashes between Buddhists, Muslims

Authorities clearing up the wreckage from the riots last week in the city of Meiktila have found eight bodies among the debris, increasing the number of dead from the previous total of 32, the New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, reported in its Tuesday edition.

During the clashes in Meiktila, which were reportedly set off by a dispute between a Muslim gold shop owner and two Buddhist sellers, rioters set fire to houses schools and mosques, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes.

The government declared a state of emergency in the city on Friday, allowing the military help to reinstate order. But as the situation there appeared to calm, authorities reported arson attacks by groups of Buddhists in other towns in the region over the weekend.

The unrest highlights the fragility of ethnic relations in Myanmar as it emerges from decades of military repression.

President Thein Sein, who has overseen the country's initial moves toward democracy, vowed Monday "to take action against those who led the violence and got involved in it and to expose those who flamed the conflict under the pretext of religion," the New Light of Myanmar reported.

The clashes in Meiktila drew expressions of concern from the United Nations and the United States.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said Monday that the Myanmar government estimates that more than 12,000 people have been displaced by the unrest.