At least 56 people were killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in western Myanmar, a government official said Thursday.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the latest round of sectarian violence against minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine.

In a statement released on Tuesday, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu censured the fresh wave of deadly violence in Rakhine, where a group of Muslims were killed after extremist Buddhists set fire to hundreds of houses.

Ihsanoglu also denounced the destruction of houses of worship in the region, urging the Myanmar government to take necessary measures to put an end to the ongoing violence against Rohingyas.

“This outbreak of violence is a continuation of events that started in June 2012 and has caused the deaths of scores and the displacement of thousands. Reports of forced evacuation, targeted violence against women, including rape and the destruction of home and villages are deplorable,” Ihsanoglu said.

The OIC secretary general asked the international community to call on the Myanmar government to make sure that the violence would not escalate and to protect the lives of innocent people.

“The Myanmar authorities should reinstate the legitimate rights of the Rohingya Muslims including their right of citizenship.”

On October 15, the Myanmar government prevented the OIC from opening an office for Rohingya Muslims in the country, with President Thein Sein claiming it is “not in accordance with the people’s desire.”

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and has classified them as illegal migrants, even though the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Pathan origins, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.

Reports say some 650 Rohingyas have been killed in Rakhine over the past few months. About 1,200 others are also missing and 80,000 more have been displaced.

PHOTO CAPTION

Muslim Rohingya children at a camp for displaced people near Sittwe.

Agencies