Authorities have imposed a curfew in Mandalay , Myanmar 's second-largest city , following nights of deadly communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims . Two people have been killed and 14 injured since rioting erupted Tuesday , Col. Aung Kyaw Moe , Mandalay Region 's Border Affairs and Security Minister , told CNN Friday . The rioting began when a mob attacked a tea shop owned by a Muslim man accused of raping a Buddhist woman , and continued the following night . Citing officials , the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that eight separate conflicts took place in the region on Tuesday and Wednesday night , involving gangs of as many as 450 people , some armed with weapons including swords , firearms , knives , rods and `` incendiary materials . '' One of the victims was Muslim and one Buddhist , officials said . Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country , with Muslims estimated to account for about 5 % of the population . Myanmar has witnessed several outbreaks of violence targeting Muslims in recent years as the country emerges from decades of authoritarian military rule , threatening the country 's fragile political reforms . Extremist Buddhist nationalist elements , such as the 969 Movement , have been accused of fanning the flames of hatred , and pushing for discriminatory laws , including a proposed ban on interfaith marriage . Fears of new unrest as Myanmar ponders monk-backed interfaith marriage ban . Radical Buddhist monks , including the 969 Movement 's spiritual leader , Ashin Wirathu , appeared to have played `` a pivotal role '' in contributing to the latest unrest , said David Mathieson , a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch . Anger against the Muslim tea shop owner , a Muslim , had escalated after Wirathu had circulated a report of the alleged rape on his Facebook page , and called for a harsh government response to `` jihadist Muslims . '' There had also been a significant monk presence among the mob , said Mathieson . `` The area where this happened is 5-10 minute drive from where Wirathu 's monastery is , '' he said . `` This really is his heartland . '' Matthew Smith , executive director of rights group Fortify Rights , said extremists were `` using social media as a platform to spread hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric and in some cases to incite violence . '' Myanmar 's government had temporarily suspended Facebook in an attempt to tamp down the unrest , he said . `` It 's a tinderbox that could erupt to unprecedented levels of violence , '' he said . `` The authorities have n't done nearly enough to stem the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment , and in some cases the government is contributing to its growth , lending public support to extremists and inflammatory draft legislation while failing to protect at-risk Muslim communities . '' However , one positive sign was that activists in Myanmar were beginning to stand up against online hate speech and racial violence , he said . One of the most influential voices in this movement is Nay Phone Latt , a blogger and former political prisoner who in April launched a campaign to counter hate speech with `` panzagar , '' or `` flower speech . '' `` Our campaign is trying to change the people 's mindset and trying to create a good culture , '' he said , adding that allowing religious and ethnic conflicts to fester had been a technique of Myanmar 's rulers since colonial days . In the case of the Mandalay unrest , he said , `` we clearly saw that this conflict started from online incitements . '' The government 's failure to prevent the violence also needed to be questioned , he said . Religious violence has left hundreds of people dead and close to 150,000 homeless since unrest broke out in in the western state of Rakhine in June 2012 , with the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority bearing the brunt of the violence . Outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence have occurred elsewhere in the country . Aung said nine people had been arrested over the violence . Five were Muslim and four Buddhist , he said . Aung San Suu Kyi 's silence on the Rohingya .
as many as 450 people are dead after violent clashes between Buddhist and Buddhist in Myanmar . Radical anti-Muslim monks appeared to play a role in inciting mobs , says rights researcher . Myanmar has had numerous outbursts of anti-Muslim violence in recent years . The violence threatens the country 's fledgling transition from recent years of military rule .