Myanmar red alert

NAYPYITAW: Troops in Myanmar’s north-eastern Rakhine state were put on high alert yesterday after nearly 200 Rakhine Buddhist villagers fled the area after a recent spate of killings amid fears of fresh Rohingya insurgent attacks.

Rakhine Chief Minister Nyi Pu and senior state government officials have “urgently” gone to the area. Border guards in Bangladesh have also been put on alert.

Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar border posts in October. A military crackdown followed with hundreds killed, more than 1 000 houses burnt and 75 000 Rohingya Muslims forced to flee to Bangladesh. Reuters