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Myanmar bishop appeals for calm following girl's murder

Body of 4-year-old found on church grounds, sparking ransacking of convent
Myanmar bishop appeals for calm following girl's murder
Published: September 30, 2015 09:11 AM GMT
Updated: September 29, 2015 11:21 PM GMT

Myanmar Bishop Alexander Pyone Cho of Pyay appealed for calm following the murder of a 4-year-old girl whose body was discovered on church grounds.

The incident sparked an angry mob to ransack a convent, forcing a priest and three nuns to flee Nyaungwon village, where the murder took place.

Police later detained a 14-year-old boy in the incident. The youth, an orphan, was residing in the convent while he was waiting to be adopted.

Bishop Pyone Cho, in a Sept. 30 statement, urged people to refrain from sharing on social media news and grisly photos of the incident in order to prevent inciting more violence.

"We realize some opportunists are attempting to fuel the incident and spread rumors that could provoke religious conflict," Bishop Pyone Cho told ucanews.com.

The bishop said recent rumors of sectarian violence frightened some local families.

"The situation is calm now as religious leaders and local authorities are trying to solve it peacefully. But these rumors have caused local villagers to be alert and worry," he said.

Father Benjamin Htwe Naing of the Assumption Parish in Nyaungwon said local villagers and police found the body of the Catholic girl on Sept 27. The girl was missing for four days.

As news of the death spread, angry villagers gathered around the church compound, eventually forcing Father Htwe and the nuns to flee under a police escort.

The priest said he later learned through local media that the convent was ransacked and several religious statues were destroyed.

"We are still observing the situation and can't go back to the church," he said.

Assumption Parish was founded 33 years ago in Nyaungwon. Only two of the village's households are Catholic; the rest are Buddhist. But church officials said there was no history of religious tensions that could be seen as a cause for the mob's rampage.

The parish cares for 13 boarding students, in addition to the alleged suspect.

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