UN leader says Myanmar tensions could spread
UNITED NATIONS — UN leader Ban Ki-moon warned Saturday that Muslim-Buddhist unrest in Myanmar 's Rakhine state could hit the country's landmark reforms and spill across borders, a UN spokesman said. Muslim leaders have made prominent calls at the UN General Assembly for action over the deadly unrest which Ban raised in talks with Myanmar's President Thein Sein and the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Thein Sein, who has embarked on fast-paced reforms in Myanmar, promised Ban he would tackle fallout from the unrest, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. But Ban later told Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the 57-nation OIC, the Rakhine troubles must be "treated carefully because of the potential wider implications of the Rakhine issue on the overall reform process in Myanmar as well as on other countries." Fighting between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine erupted in June. According to an official toll, about 90 peo