RANGOON, Burma – Authorities on Saturday (July 20th) lifted a state of emergency imposed in Meiktila and surrounding areas in March where dozens of people were killed in religious violence, state media said according to AFP.

The order was revoked "as peace and stability has already been restored", according to a notice in the New Light of Burma newspaper.

Officially, 44 people were killed in the Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Meiktila, although some fear the toll was much higher.

Rights groups have accused security forces of being too slow to stop the violence.

Attacks against Muslims have exposed deep fractures in the Buddhist-majority nation and cast a shadow over its emergence from army rule.

Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Rakhine last year left about 200 people dead, mostly Rohingya Muslims who are denied citizenship by Burma.