YANGON: Twelve people have died in the north of Myanmar’s Rakhine state in clashes between armed men and troops, state media reported on Wednesday, in a sharp escalation of violence in the restive region. Four soldiers and one attacker were killed on Tuesday when hundreds of men wielding pistols and swords assailed troops in Pyaungpit village, in Maungdaw township. Troops also found seven dead along with with rudimentary weapons after fighting broke out in the nearby village of Taung Paing Nyar. “After the incident, troops found seven dead bodies,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported. Four men suspected of being involved in Sunday’s attacks, two of whom were named as Andra Mular Kein and Mawlawi Fordita Laung by state media, were also captured on Tuesday.

Source: Manila Times October 12, 2016 02:48 UTC