ROME (AFP) - Italy's government told India's ambassador to Rome Monday it is "deeply concerned" about ongoing anti-Christian riots in eastern India in recent days, a foreign ministry statement said. The government has "deep concern and sensitivity for the ongoing inter-religious violence that has caused the death of many Christians," the statement said. Sixteen people have been killed since clashes broke out between Hindus and Christians on August 23 in the east Indian state of Orissa, a local police chief said Monday. Thousands of residents have also fled their homes. Despite the Indian authorities' insistence Friday that it had halted the deadly riots, four new churches were burnt down in Orissa, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Monday. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke his silence over the violence, asking Orissa state officials to stamp out anti-Christian rioting and punish those responsible for murder and arson, officials said. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI firmly condemned the attacks. The violence erupted after the murder of a popular Hindu leader in Orissa's impoverished Kandhamal district. A senior Maoist leader has claimed responsibility for the killing, but hardline Hindus have accused minority Christians of assassinating Swami  Saraswati. Christians account for 2.3 percent of India's billion-plus population. Hindu radicals accuse missionaries of luring poor tribals and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity by offering free education and health care.