KUALA LUMPUR: Food shortages are being reported in Myanmar, confounding an already tense humanitarian situation in the western part of the country that has seen violent clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and the stateless Rohingya Muslims. Residents in the area said they could not sleep at night due to the fear of violence and now face food shortages that could turn the situation from bad to worse. At least 21 people have been reportedly killed and more than 1,600 homes set ablaze in the conflict, the worst in Myanmar in years. Some of the fires were extinguished only by the rain. Fears of renewed violence halted bus and ferry deliveries of food and other cargo from Yangon to Sittwe, Rakhine's capital, limiting supplies and sending prices skyrocketing. Shops, banks, schools and markets were closed. President Thein Sein has declared an emergency in Rakhine and warned that the spiraling violence could threaten the democratic reforms tentatively transforming the country after half a century of military rule. The United Nations special adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, visited Sittwe on Wednesday, accompanied by government officials, and then flew to another city that has seen violence, Maungdaw in northern Rakhine state near Bangladesh. Ferry cargo companies that deliver to the area stopped service on Tuesday and will resume once security is restored, said a manager at the Shwe Pyi Thit ferry service. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitivities surrounding the sectarian violence. Road transport in and out of the cities stopped a few days ago.
