Eight people died and 36 were arrested in clashes between the Myanmar army and what the government believes are Rohingya Muslim militants in northern Rakhine State, state media said on Sunday, in the largest escalation of the month-old conflict yet. Skirmishes took place throughout Saturday in villages in the north of Rakhine, leaving one officer and one soldier dead. The army returned fire, but at one point asked for army choppers to reinforce because its troops were outnumbered, the paper said. The troops at one point were shot at by about 500 men, state media said. The violence in recent weeks is the most serious to hit Rakhine since hundreds were killed in communal clashes in 2012.

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2016 07:32 UTC