Police have detained 17 people from Myanmar over a string of gruesome murders in a popular Malaysian tourist destination, and believe the killings are linked to ethnic unrest in their native country, reports said Friday.
Malaysian police have detained 15 people from Myanmar over a string of gruesome murders in Penang, a popular tourist destination, and believe the killings are linked to ethnic unrest in their native country
Public anxiety has risen in Malaysia's historic state of Penang over the past few months as mutilated corpses or severed body parts have turned up
Authorities had made little comment until now but the state's police chief was quoted Friday saying they now believe the killings are linked to violent clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar.
Myanmar Buddhists complain that authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia have done little to stop the attacks.Penang is on Malaysia's northern coast, along the dangerous sea route via southern Thailand that is taken by Rohingya fleeing Myanmar.