Envoys visit strife-hit Rakhine state

Foreign diplomats visited flashpoint areas of Myanmar's strife-torn Rakhine state yesterday, authorities said, as pressure mounts on the government to address accusations of rights abuses in a region home to the Muslim Rohingya minority.

The military has heavily restricted access to the state's northwestern strip, which abuts Bangladesh, since surprise raids on border posts left nine police dead on October 9.

The hunt for the culprits, who the government says are radicalised Rohingya Muslims, has seen more than 30 people killed, dozens arrested and 15,000 flee their homes in fear.

The government has denied allegations that security forces have raped villagers, looted towns and torched homes belonging to the Rohingya and is keen to show that its operations to flush out the attackers were proportionate.

The ambassadors of China, the United States and United Kingdom were among diplomats and UN officials who arrived in the area yesterday morning, Myanmar's Ministry of Information said on its website.

They were joined by a high-level Myanmar government delegation "to study villages in Maungdaw district... from November 2nd to 3rd" the ministry added.

A local policeman, requesting anonymity, said the ambassadors began the day by "checking the area around Wapaik village near Kyikanpyin BGP commanding office," referring to the Border Guard Police post hit by the attack on October 9.

Later a hundreds-strong group of Rohingya met their convoy as it toured the area.

Meanwhile, a group of parliamentarians from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) yesterday urged Myanmar to probe reports of human rights abuses in Rakhine state.

Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has urged to conduct a "thorough and impartial investigation into reports of abuses by security forces" against civilians in Rakhine.

It also called on the military to allow aid workers and journalists access to affected areas in order to provide humanitarian assistance and document developments.