Myanmar boosts security in Rakhine state

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Myanmar has boosted security operations in the northwestern Rakhine state after violence erupted over the weekend, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Sunday.

"More security forces have been supplied to assist in operations being conducted in the areas where extremist terrorists are known to hide," the newspaper said, citing the Information Committee of the State Counselor's Office.

Rohingya insurgents carried out a series of coordinated attacks against police outposts and an army base Friday, with firearms and improvised explosive devices, leaving at least 116 dead including six civilians, according to government officials.

Border police stand guard at Ngayantchaung village, Buthidaung township in Myanmar's Rakhine state, July 14, 2017. /AFP Photo

Myanmar's government said it had evacuated at least 4,000 non-Muslim villagers amid ongoing clashes, as thousands more Rohingya Muslims sought to flee across the border to Bangladesh on Sunday.

The Rakhine state is the home of the Rohingya community, or ethnic Muslims who are regarded as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh by many Myanmar Buddhists.

3095km