Myanmar has called on its military to "launch operations" against ethnic Rakhine rebels behind a deadly attack on four police stations last week as a surge of violence forced thousands more from their homes.

The country's troubled western Rakhine state has seen a series of clashes in recent weeks between security forces and the Arakan Army (AA), a Buddhist armed group fighting for more autonomy.

The area is one of the poorest in Myanmar and is scarred by deep ethnic and religious hatred.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been driven out of Rakhine state in a brutal military campaign that began in August 2017. The military has justified the operation, which forced the mostly Muslim minority to seek refuge in Bangladesh, as a way to stamp out Rohingya fighters.

The latestviolence by ethnic Rakhine rebels culminated on Friday - Myanmar's Independence Day - in brazen pre-dawn raids on four police posts in Buthidaung township near the Bangladesh border.

Authorities said the attack by hundreds of fighters left 13 police officers dead and nine wounded before the army, known locally as the Tatmadaw, was able to provide back-up.

The AA said that three of its fighters had been killed, accusing the military of using the police stations as a base from which to fire heavy artillery.

"The president's office has already instructed the Tatmadaw to launch operations to crack down on the insurgents," government spokesman Zaw Htay told reporters in the capital Naypyidaw.

Civilians flee

Some 4,500 people have been displaced by the recent weeks of violence, the UN's humanitarian agency said on Monday.



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