At least seven Rakhine protestors were killed and 12 others injured as Myanmar police opened fire on them in Rakhine State on late Tuesday.
The violence occurred at a time when Myanmar has agreed to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Bangladesh who fled from violence in the Rakhine State.
The ethnic Rakhine gathered in Mrauk U township, in the northern part of Rakhine state, to mark the end of the Arakan kingdom, Tin Maung Swe, the secretary of the Rakhine state government, said.
Maung said some 4,000 people surrounded a government building after the annual ceremony marking the demise of the kingdom over 200 years ago, reports Reuters.
The organisers did not seek approval from local authorities for the gathering, he said.
“The police used rubber bullets initially but the crowd didn’t leave. Finally the security members had to shoot. The conflict happened when some people tried to seize guns from the police,” he added.
Tun Ther Sein, regional MP from Mrauk U, said some of the critically injured protesters were taken to the state capital of Sittwe, a three-hour drive south of the ancient town studded with Buddhist temples.
The violent demonstration underscores the challenges facing Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a country where dozens of ethnic groups have been clamouring for autonomy since independence from Britain in 1947.
Tensions in Rakhine have risen since a sweeping Myanmar army operation in August inflamed communal tension and triggered an exodus of over 650,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh.