By the CNN Wire Staff
People have been displaced across Rahkine state in western Myanmar.
Some fled from the violence by boat
Hong Kong (CNN) -- The death toll from fighting between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar last week has risen to 84 and at least 22,500 people have been displaced by the sectarian violence, state media and the United Nations say.
The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said on Monday that 129 people were also injured during the violence, which erupted on October 21 and has cast a pall over recent reforms in the Asian nation.
However, the paper added that no new clashes had been reported since Sunday and the areas affected had returned to "normalcy."
Following a visit to five townships where the fighting took place, Ashok Nigam, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar, on Sunday said his team had seen "large-scale" destruction of houses and the displaced were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The swath of arson, the group said, stretched over 35 acres and included houseboats and floating barges. It added that local police shot at Muslims trying to put out the fires.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the government in Myanmar has done little to address the root causes of the violence and the discriminatory treatment that many Rohingya face.
"Extremists in both communities have been empowered by a lack of accountability where people involved in sectarian violence haven't been bought to justice so it's a very, very bad situation and one that is getting worse," he told CNN.
The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority who say they have been persecuted by the Myanmar military during its decades of authoritarian rule. Myanmar doesn't recognize them as citizens.
Unrest between the Rohingya and majority Buddhists has tested President Thein Sein's administration, which is trying to seek reconciliation with Myanmar's different ethnic groups and move the country toward more democratic governance.
The government has sent extra security into the troubled region and declared a state of emergency. The president's office warned Thursday that "manipulators" behind the violence can expect to be found and prosecuted.
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, speaking in Parliament on Friday, called for a greater security presence and urged authorities to investigate suspected human rights offenses.
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