Myanmar police fire warning shots amid religious tension

In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017 photo, Myanmar riot police patrol to provide security on a road in Mingala Taungnyunt township where Buddhist hard-liners confront with Muslim community in Yangon, Myanmar. Police in Myanmar's main city fired warning shots overnight to break up a confrontation between dozens of Buddhists and Muslims. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

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In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017 photo, Myanmar police officers sit in a truck as they provide security on a road in Mingala Taungnyunt township where Buddhist hard-liners confront with Muslim community in Yangon, Myanmar. Police in Myanmar's main city fired warning shots overnight to break up a confrontation between dozens of Buddhists and Muslims. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

In this Tuesday, May 9, 2017 photo, Myanmar police officers stand to provide security on a road in Mingala Taungnyunt township where Buddhist hard-liners confront with Muslim community in Yangon, Myanmar. Police in Myanmar's main city fired warning shots overnight to break up a confrontation between dozens of Buddhists and Muslims. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

Police in Myanmar's main city fired have warning shots to break up a confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims that left at least one person injured.

Police say the confrontation began after midnight Wednesday when Buddhist hard-liners entered a Muslim neighborhood claiming that ethnic Rohingya Muslims were hiding "illegally" in the area.

It was the latest manifestation of rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the predominantly Buddhist nation, where ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks and their supporters forced the closure of two Muslim schools in Yangon last month.

Rohingya in Myanmar are largely denied citizenship and basic rights. The majority of them live in western Myanmar and cannot travel without special permission.

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