Suu Kyi under pressure

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces mounting criticism for her government's handling of a crisis in Muslim-majority northern Rakhine State, where soldiers have blocked access for aid workers and are accused of raping and killing civilians.

Meanwhile, sources said senior diplomats from the United States, China, Britain and the European Union will this week visit the restive state, which has been cut off to aid workers and observers for more than three weeks.

The diplomats, and the top United Nations representative in Myanmar, will set off for Maungdaw on Wednesday, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The military operation has sharpened the tension between Suu Kyi's six-month-old civilian administration and the army, which ruled the country for decades and retains key powers, including control of ministries responsible for security.

Exposing the lack of oversight of the armed forces by the government, military commanders have ignored requests for information about alleged misconduct by soldiers for more than 10 days, according to a senior civilian official.

Troops moved into northern Rakhine, near the frontier with Bangladesh, after militants killed nine border police in coordinated attacks on Oct 9.

Since then, the government has said five soldiers and at least 33 insurgents have been killed in clashes with a group it believes has around 400 members drawn from the mostly stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.

Residents and rights groups have reported killings, looting and sexual assaults committed by soldiers against civilians.

While Myanmar's army-drafted constitution puts the military firmly in control of security matters, diplomats and aid workers say privately they are dismayed at Suu Kyi's lack of deeper involvement in the handling of the crisis.

United Nations experts have publicly called for the government to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

Diplomats have also pressured the Myanmar government to allow humanitarian aid, including World Food Programme assistance and mobile clinics, to be restored.