Myanmar refuses to negotiate with 'terrorists' after insurgents' truce

APD NEWS

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Myanmar on Sunday rejected a ceasefire declared by Muslim Rohingya insurgents, saying that it does not negotiate with terrorists. The truce was intended to allow aid to be delivered to thousands of refugees currently in Rakhine state.

Attacks by militants on police posts and an army base on August 25 prompted a military counter-offensive that triggered an exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh, adding to the hundreds of thousands already there from previous conflicts.

According to the latest estimate by UN workers in the Cox's Bazar region of southern Bangladesh, about 294,000, many sick or wounded, have arrived in just 15 days, putting huge strain on humanitarian agencies' operations.

Rohingya refugees walk to the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, September 10, 2017.

Thousands of Rohingya remaining in the north-western state of Rakhine have been left without shelter or food, and many are still trying to cross mountains, dense bush and rice fields to reach Bangladesh.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgent group declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire, starting on Sunday, so that aid could reach these people.

The impact of ARSA's move is unclear, but it does not appear to have been able to put up significant resistance against the military force unleashed in Rakhine state, where thousands of homes have been burned down and dozens of villages destroyed.

ARSA's declaration drew no formal response from the military or the government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar. However, the spokesman for Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said on Twitter: "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi talks during a news conference with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, September 6, 2017.

Myanmar says its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against ARSA, which the government has declared a terrorist organization.

Human rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say the army and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes have mounted a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the Rohingya, whose population is estimated at around 1.1 million.

(REUTERS)