Approaching Buthidaung town in the conflict-riddled northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State by motor boat, a group of journalists was stunned to see thick plumes of smoke billowing out in the distance across the lush green rice paddies.Aware of the latest clashes in the area, all aboard realized at once that what they were seeing was smoke from burning villages of either ethnic Rakhine Buddhists or Muslim Rohingya.The journalists, from nine foreign media outlets, including Kyodo News, and eight local outlets, were on a two-day government-organized press tour from Wednesday to Maungdaw, the…READ FULL ARTICLE
