BANGKOK, Thailand – Police used a water cannon to keep hundreds of Burmese Rohingya Muslims from breaking out of a detention centre in Phang Nga province where they have been housed for months, AFP reported.

An estimated 261 Rohingya asylum seekers broke locks on two rooms Thursday (August 8th) and tried to storm the centre's front door, apparently prompted by the end of Ramadan.

A local official said the Rohingya men wanted to come out for Idul Fitri prayers. Police said they had agreed to allow detainees to exit in small groups of five at a time. Instead, the authorities said, they were mobbed by hundreds trying to get out.