May Kyaw Mar, 55, says the two groups teamed up to attack them and burn their homes.

"Bengalis created the problem. Local [Kaman] Muslims also created the problem. They both are the same."

Some Buddhist leaders are feeding hatred against Muslims, including the Kaman. U Bat Di Ya, the head monk at the Than Phyu Monastery, uses the ethnic slur "Kular," meaning dark-skin, to describe Rohingya.

"Kaman are also Kular," he said. "They are a kind of Kular race. They are the same blood. When incidents happen they unite with Kular, they don't stay on the Rakhine side."

President Thein Sein rebuked Buddhist leaders for anti-Muslim rhetoric. Nonetheless, Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing rejects the view that tensions have become religious.

"This is not a religious problem. This is not about ethnicity. I believe that only some extremist groups are creating the problems from behind the scenes," he noted.

Aye Nu Sein, spokeswoman for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, rejects accusations they instigated violence against Muslims.

"Although Kaman are Muslims, they have the right to be a citizen of the country," she said. "Some Bengalis pretend to be Kaman, in order to get citizenship by taking advantage of their similarity of religion. We Rakhine call them 'fake Kaman.'"

Meanwhile, most Kaman say that although they have the right to citizenship, corrupt officials demand high fees that not all can afford.