Although the conflict in Rakhine state initially appeared to be an isolated incident fueled by specific regional tensions, violence directed at Muslims soon appeared in other parts of the country. In the central Myanmar town of Meikhtila (in ethnic Burman territory), riots in March 2013 resulted in dozens of deaths as Buddhists burned Muslim
homes, mosques, and schools in response to a jewelry store dispute and the murder of a Buddhist monk by a group of Muslims (Davis, Atkinson, and Sollom 2013). Anti-Muslim violence also occurred in May 2013 in the town of Lashio, located in Shan state (an area with
active armed, ethnic-opposition groups that occasionally clash with
the Burmese military).