Bangladesh vows to protect Buddhists after attacks

Hundreds of Buddhists who fled their southern Bangladesh villages in the wake of attacks by Muslims started returning home Monday amid heightened security and more than 160 arrests.The Buddhists moved to safety after an overnight weekend attack in which thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims burned at least 10 Buddhist temples and 40 homes in anger over a Facebook photo of a burned Quran.Army soldiers, paramilitary border guards and police were deployed, and the government has banned all public gatherings in the troubled areas near the southern border with Myanmar, said Lt. Col. Jaed Hossain, a military commander who was helping to install tents for displaced Buddhists.They are coming back. We are giving them protection, Hossain said at Merunglua village in the coastal district of Coxs Bazar on Monday.Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir told reporters in Dhaka on Monday that security officials detained 166 people in Coxs Bazar and neighboring Chittagong district in connection with the attacks.Hossain said about 1,000 Buddhist families fled their homes after the attacks were launched late Saturday. As the unrest continued through early Sunday, many Buddhist-owned homes and shops were looted. Nojibul Islam, a Coxs Bazar police chief, said at least 20 people were injured.