YANGON: Thousands of people have fled renewed fighting between Myanmar’s army and ethnic insurgents in the country’s remote north, a United Nations official said, as a long-simmering conflict intensifies. “We have received reports from local organizations saying that there are still many civilians who remain trapped in conflict-affected areas,” Cutts said of the recent clashes. In addition to the Rohingya Muslim crisis in the western part of mainly Buddhist Myanmar, the country’s conflict-hit north has also played host to clashes involving other ethnic minorities, which rarely make headlines. Rights groups say the army has stepped up its campaign in remote areas of Myanmar amid the Rohingya crisis, which has seen some 700,000 people flee to Bangladesh. The US and the UN have called the military crackdown ethnic cleansing, while Myanmar denies the claims and says it was defending itself against Rohingya insurgents.

Source: Manila Times April 28, 2018 12:22 UTC