5 Buddhist Temples Attacked in Ukhia

Police and a Rapid Action Battalion were dispatched to temples to 'control the situation'

Ukhia region of Bangladesh

(UKHIA, Bangladesh BDNews24) - After the overnight charge on a pro-dominantly Buddhist village in Ramu, five more Buddhist temples in Cox's Bazar district's Ukhia Upazila were also attacked on Sunday.

Unidentified miscreants set a temple of the Paschimratna Sudarshon Buddhist Vihara, situated in the upazila's Court Bazar area, on fire around 7pm.

Locals said two other temples, Uttar Borobil Buddhist Vihara and Paschim Maricya Shraddhangkur Buddhist Vihara, were set ablaze while another two temples, Rajapalong Zadimura Buddhist Vihara and Rejur Kul Dhormashok Buddhist Vihara, were vandalised.

Police and a Rapid Action Battalion were sent to those temples to 'control the situation', Cox's Bazaar Superintendent of Police Selim Mohammad Jahangir had told bdnews24.com earlier.

Earlier on Sunday, a mob of religious fanatics torched and vandalised a Buddhist village in Ramu Upazilla in one of the worst religious attacks in Bangladesh which appeared to have been triggered by a Facebook post allegedly defaming the Quran.

Seven Buddhist temples, around 30 houses and shops were torched in the attacks that started at 11:30pm on Saturday and lasted until around 4am on Sunday. More than a hundred houses and shops were also reportedly attacked, vandalised and ransacked.

Abil Uddin Chowdhury, President of the ruling Awami League's Ukhia Upazlia unit, told bdnews24.com thousands of people attacked the Paschimratna Sudarshon Buddhist Vihara. "Locals did not even recognise most of the assailants."

They could not even tell whether the attackers were Rohingya Muslim refugees coming from Myanmar, he added.

One of the local residents, Prashanta Barua, confirmed bdnews24.com about the attack taking place around 7pm.

There are two temples, new and old, at that Vihara and the old one was torched.

However, the attackers fled the scene after RAB and police arrived there.

bdnews24.com/corr/mhp/su/trb/bd/2345h