State of emergency declared as death toll rises to 20 in Myanmar religious riots

[NBCNews]

Soe Zeya Tun / ReutersFiremen attempt to extinguish fires during riots in Meikhtila, Myanmar, on March 22, 2013. Unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in central Myanmar has reduced neighborhoods to ashes and stoked fears that last year's sectarian bloodshed is spreading into the country's heartland in a test of Asia's newest democracy. Nyein Chan Naing / EPAA riot policeman stands guard next to a burning building in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013. A curfew was imposed for the second night as riots between Buddhists and Muslims continued.By The Associated Press

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar — Myanmar President Thein Sein has declared a state of emergency in a central town where at least 20 people have been killed in violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

Burning fires from two days of  Buddhist-Muslim violence smoldered across Meikhtila on Friday as residents cowered indoors amid growing fears the  country's latest bout of sectarian bloodshed could spread.

The government's struggle to contain the unrest is proving  another major challenge to Thein Sein's reformist administration as it  attempts to chart a path to democracy after nearly half a century of military  rule that once crushed all dissent. Read the full story.Nyein Chan Naing / EPAPeople carry their belongings as they arrive at a temporary rescue center in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013. Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty ImagesResidents sit on a railway track watching buildings burn around a mosque in riot-hit Meikhtila on March 21, 2013.Soe Zeya Tun / ReutersBurnt houses are seen in Meikhtila on March 21, 2013.Follow @NBCNewsPictures  

NBC News