The legal and political rights of the Rohingya people have been an underlying issue in the conflict, with spontaneous bouts of violence such as the 2012 Rakhine State riots and 2013 Myanmar anti-Muslim riots periodically occurring as a result. Despite making up a majority of the population in the three northern townships of Rakhine State, Rohingyas are often targets of religiously-motivated attacks. The 1982 Nationality law did not recognise the Rohingyas as an ethnic group native to Myanmar. As a result, Rohingyas cannot apply for Burmese citizenship and few laws exist to protect their rights.