the weekend, people streamed to nearby monasteries and other makeshift camps to escape the crossfire, carrying infants and bags of belongings.

The increase in fighting comes just two weeks after the military declared a four-month ceasefire with a number of armed groups in Kachin and Shan states on the other side of the country.



But Rakhine was a notable exception, and army operations against the AA have continued.



Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi stated that the peace process would be her top priority after her party swept to power in landmark 2015 elections.



There are some two dozen conflicts festering around the country's restive borderlands, some of which date back 70 years to when the nation declared independence from colonial power Britain.



Independent analyst David Mathieson told AFP news agency theManager Peter Nowak admits he was extremely surprised to see college soccer’s most prolific offensive player in the past two years available in the third round of Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft. Yet there Levi Houapeu was when the Union were on the clock with the 41st overall selection after picking Zac MacMath and Michael Farfan in the first two rounds.

Houapeu, a 21-year-old attacker known for his breakaway speed, is capable of playing as a winger or withdrawn striker. The Ivorian led the nation in points in his final two years at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), accumulating a whopping 30 goals and 17 assists.

While those lofty numbers are unlikely to translate to the professional ranks, Nowak feels as though the club managed to capture another building block