DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh lodged a protest after it said Myanmar had laid landmines near the border between the two countries, government officials said on Wednesday, amid growing tensions over the huge influx of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar.

An army crackdown triggered by an attack on Aug. 25 by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces has led to the killing of at least 400 people and the exodus of nearly 125,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.

When asked whether Bangladesh had lodged the complaint, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said “yes” without elaborating. Three other government sources confirmed that a protest note was faxed to Myanmar in the morning saying the Buddhist-majority country was violating international norms.

“Bangladesh has expressed great concern to Myanmar about the explosions very close to the border,” a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A Myanmar military source said landmines were laid along the border in the 1990s to prevent trespassing and the military had since tried to remove them. But none had been planted recently.

Two Bangladeshi sources told Reuters they believed Myanmar security forces were putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence between a series of border pillars. Both sources said Bangladesh learned about the landmines mainly through photographic evidence and informers.

“Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground,” one of the sources said. “We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying land mines.”

The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya insurgents.

FILE PHOTO: A Rohingya man carrying his belongings approaches the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Bandarban, an area under Cox's Bazar authority, Bangladesh, August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladesh border guard officer, told Reuters earlier that two blasts were heard on Tuesday on the Myanmar side, after two on Monday fueled speculation that Myanmar forces had laid land mines.

One boy had his left leg blown off on Tuesday near a border crossing before being brought to Bangladesh for treatment, while another boy suffered minor injuries, Khan said, adding that the blast could have been a mine explosion.

A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast on Monday - on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in a no man’s land on the border - filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10 centimeters (4 inches) in diameter partially buried in the mud. He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground.

Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the Monday blasts, which occurred around 2:25 p.m.

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were land mines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army.

The Myanmar army has not commented on the blasts near the border. Zaw Htay, the spokesman for Myanmar’s national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was not immediately available for comment.

On Monday, he told Reuters clarification was needed to determine “where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those land mines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?”

The Bangladesh interior ministry secretary, Mostafa Kamal Uddin, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees walk on the muddy path after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Teknaf, Bangladesh, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

The border pillars mentioned by the Dhaka-based sources mark the boundaries of the two countries, along which Myanmar has a portion of barbed wire fencing. Most of the two countries’ 217-km-long border is porous.

“They are not doing anything on Bangladeshi soil,” said one of the sources. “But we have not seen such laying of land mines in the border before.”

Myanmar, which was under military rule until recently and is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, is one of the few countries that have not signed the 1997 U.N. Mine Ban Treaty. </s> Myanmar has been laying landmines across a section of its border with Bangladesh for the past three days, said two government sources in Dhaka, adding that the purpose may have been to prevent the return of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence.

Bangladesh will on Wednesday formally lodge a protest against the laying of land mines so close to the border, said the sources who had direct knowledge of the situation but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

An army crackdown triggered by an attack on Aug. 25 by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces has led to the killing of at least 400 people and the exodus of nearly 125,000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.

“They are putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence” between a series of border pillars, said one of the sources. Both sources said Bangladesh learned about the landmines mainly through photographic evidence and informers.

“Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground,” one of the sources said. “We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying land mines.”



The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya insurgents.

Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladesh border guard officer, told Reuters earlier that two blasts were heard on Tuesday on the Myanmar side, after two on Monday fueled speculation that Myanmar forces had laid land mines.

One boy had his left leg blown off on Tuesday near a border crossing before being brought to Bangladesh for treatment, while another boy suffered minor injuries, Khan said, adding that the blast could have been a mine explosion.

A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast on Monday - on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in a no man’s land on the border - filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10 centimeters (4 inches) in diameter partially buried in the mud. He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground.

Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the Monday blasts, which occurred around 2:25 p.m.

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were land mines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army.

Myanmar army has not commented on the blasts near the border. Zaw Htay, the spokesman for Myanmar’s national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was not immediately available for comment.

On Monday, he told Reuters clarification was needed to determine “where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those land mines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?”

The Bangladesh interior ministry secretary, Mostafa Kamal Uddin, did not respond to calls seeking comment.



The border pillars mentioned by the Dhaka-based sources demarcate the boundaries of the two countries, along which Myanmar has a portion of barbed wire fencing. Most of the two countries’ 217-km-long border is porous.

“They are not doing anything on Bangladeshi soil,” said one of the sources. “But we have not seen such laying of land mines in the border before.”

Myanmar, which was under military rule until recently and is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, is one of the few countries that have not signed the 1997 U.N. Mine Ban Treaty. </s> Myanmar has been laying landmines across a section of its border with Bangladesh for the past three days, said two government sources in Dhaka, adding that the purpose may have been to prevent the return of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence.

Bangladesh will on Wednesday formally lodge a protest against the laying of land mines so close to the border, said the sources who had direct knowledge of the situation but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

An army crackdown triggered by an attack on Aug. 25 by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces has led to the killing of at least 400 people and the exodus of nearly 125,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.

“They are putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence” between a series of border pillars, said one of the sources. Both sources said Bangladesh learned about the landmines mainly through photographic evidence and informers.

“Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground,” one of the sources said. “We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying land mines.”

The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya insurgents.

Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladesh border guard officer, told Reuters earlier that two blasts were heard on Tuesday on the Myanmar side, after two on Monday fuelled speculation that Myanmar forces had laid land mines.

One boy had his left leg blown off on Tuesday near a border crossing before being brought to Bangladesh for treatment, while another boy suffered minor injuries, Khan said, adding that the blast could have been a mine explosion.

A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast on Monday – on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in a no man’s land on the border – filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10 centimetres (4 inches) in diameter partially buried in the mud. He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground.

Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the Monday blasts, which occurred around 2:25 p.m.

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were land mines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army.

Myanmar army has not commented on the blasts near the border. Zaw Htay, the spokesman for Myanmar’s national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was not immediately available for comment.

On Monday, he told Reuters clarification was needed to determine “where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those land mines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?”

The Bangladesh interior ministry secretary, Mostafa Kamal Uddin, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The border pillars mentioned by the Dhaka-based sources demarcate the boundaries of the two countries, along which Myanmar has a portion of barbed wire fencing. Most of the two countries’ 217-km-long border is porous.

“They are not doing anything on Bangladeshi soil,” said one of the sources. “But we have not seen such laying of land mines in the border before.”

Myanmar, which was under military rule until recently and is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, is one of the few countries that have not signed the 1997 U.N. Mine Ban Treaty.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> Myanmar has been laying landmines across a section of its border with Bangladesh for the past three days, said two government sources in Dhaka, adding that the purpose may have been to prevent the return of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence. Bangladesh will on Wednesday formally lodge a protest against the laying of land mines so close to the border, said the sources who had direct knowledge of the situation but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. An army crackdown triggered by an attack on Aug. 25 by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces has led to the killing of at least 400 people and the exodus of nearly 125,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.”They are putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence” between a series of border pillars, said one of the sources. Both sources said Bangladesh learned about the landmines mainly through photographic evidence and informers. “Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground,” one of the sources said. “We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying land mines.”

The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya insurgents. Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladesh border guard officer, told Reuters earlier that two blasts were heard on Tuesday on the Myanmar side, after two on Monday fuelled speculation that Myanmar forces had laid land mines. One boy had his left leg blown off on Tuesday near a border crossing before being brought to Bangladesh for treatment, while another boy suffered minor injuries, Khan said, adding that the blast could have been a mine explosion. A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast on Monday – on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in a no man’s land on the border – filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10 centimetres (4 inches) in diameter partially buried in the mud. He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground.Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the Monday blasts, which occurred around 2:25 p.m.

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were land mines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army. Myanmar army has not commented on the blasts near the border. Zaw Htay, the spokesman for Myanmar’s national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was not immediately available for comment. On Monday, he told Reuters clarification was needed to determine “where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those land mines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?” The Bangladesh interior ministry secretary, Mostafa Kamal Uddin, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The border pillars mentioned by the Dhaka-based sources demarcate the boundaries of the two countries, along which Myanmar has a portion of barbed wire fencing. Most of the two countries’ 217-km-long border is porous. “They are not doing anything on Bangladeshi soil,” said one of the sources. “But we have not seen such laying of land mines in the border before.” Myanmar, which was under military rule until recently and is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, is one of the few countries that have not signed the 1997 U.N. Mine Ban Treaty. </s> Myanmar has been laying landmines across a section of its border with Bangladesh for the past three days, according to reports citing two government sources in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

The sources say the purpose may be to prevent the return of Rohingya Muslims fleeing the violence.

Bangladesh will on Wednesday formally lodge a protest against the laying of landmines so close to the border, the sources - who had direct knowledge of the situation but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter - told Reuters news agency.

Since the latest round of violence began in Myanmar's Rakhine state, at least 400 people have been killed, and nearly 125,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, leading to a major humanitarian crisis.

"They are putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence" between a series of border pillars, one of the sources told Reuters.

READ MORE: Who are the Rohingya Muslims?

Both sources said Bangladesh learned about the landmines mainly through photographic evidence and informers.

"Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground," one of the sources said.

"We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying landmines."

The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya.

Reacting to the reports, Phone Tint, Rakhine's minister for border affairs, told Al Jazeera: "We did not do such a thing."

In Pictures: The perilous journey of Rohingya refugees

Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladeshi border guard officer, told Reuters earlier that two blasts were heard on Tuesday on the Myanmar side.

Two similar blasts on Monday had already prompted speculation that Myanmar forces had laid landmines.

One boy had his left leg blown off on Tuesday near a border crossing before being brought to Bangladesh for treatment, while another boy suffered minor injuries, Khan said, adding that the blast could have been a mine explosion.

A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast on Monday - on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in what is being described as "no man's land" on the border - filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10cm in diameter partially buried in the mud.

He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground.

Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the Monday blasts, which occurred at around 2:25pm local time (07:55 GMT).

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were landmines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army.

Myanmar's army has not commented on the blasts near the border.

Zaw Htay, spokesperson for Myanmar's national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was not immediately available for comment.

On Monday, Htay told Reuters that clarification was needed.

"Where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those landmines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?" he said.

No comment

The border pillars mentioned by the Dhaka-based sources demarcate the boundaries of the two countries, along which Myanmar has a portion of barbed wire fencing.

Most of the two countries' 217km-long border is porous.

"They are not doing anything on Bangladeshi soil," one of the sources said.

"But we have not seen such laying of landmines in the border before."

READ MORE: Persecution of all Muslims in Myanmar 'on the rise'

Myanmar, which was under military rule until recently, is one of the few countries that have not signed the 1997 UN Mine Ban Treaty.

The more than one million Rohingya in Myanmar are seen as illegal immigrants in the mainly Buddhist country.

They have been forced to live under apartheid-like restrictions on movement and citizenship.

The areas where Rohingya live, mainly in Rakhine, have been under a constant military crackdown, with reports of extrajudicial killings, rape, arson and torture by security forces - allegations the government has denied.

Antonio Guterres , UN secretary-general, called on the government of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday to end the violence against the Rohingya.

He warned of "regional destabilisation" if the violence continues.

Myanmar contends the security crackdowns are necessary to fight "terrorism".

In a statement issued by her office on Facebook, Aung San Suu Kyi said the government had "already started defending all the people in Rakhine in the best way possible" and warned against misinformation that could mar relations with other countries.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the United Nations headquarters in New York, said: "There is a real concern from the UN about the humanitarian situation because of this human exodus and the sheer number of people crossing the border into Bangladesh."

The UN Security Council met last week to discuss the crisis, but there was no formal statement following the closed-door meeting. </s> A woman has had her leg blown off as it emerged Rohingya Muslims were having to cross minefields to reach Bangladesh.

As the news of the refugees being maimed filtered through to Indonesia, protesting Islamists in Jakarta chanted 'Allahu Akbar' and demanded punishment for Myanmar as rallies popped up across the globe.

Myanmar has been laying landmines across a section of its border with Bangladesh, said two government sources in Dhaka, adding that astonishingly the purpose may have been to prevent the return of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence.

Bangladesh will today formally lodge a protest against the laying of land mines so close to the border as the number of Rohinyas fleeing Myanmar amid clashes between insurgents and the army reached 146,000.

The source, who asked not to be named, said: 'They are putting the landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence.

'Our forces have also seen three to four groups working near the barbed wire fence, putting something into the ground.

'We then confirmed with our informers that they were laying land mines.'

The sources did not clarify if the groups were in uniform, but added that they were sure they were not Rohingya insurgents.

One of those who fell victim to the mines was a woman whose leg was mutilated as she tried to cross the border.

Myanmar army has not commented on the blasts near the border and the silence has added fuel to the fire.

Global protests in Chechnya, Indonesia, Pakistan, Germany and Australia have all condemned the latest developments.

Thousands of Indonesians, led by Islamist groups, held the rally near the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday to protest against the treatment of Rohingya Muslims and demand the snapping of ties between the two countries.

While some protesters chanted 'Allahu Akbar', meaning God is great, others shouted slogans such as 'Slaughter Myanmar' and 'Burn the embassy'.

Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims and there have been several anti-Myanmar protests in Jakarta and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur over the treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1million Rohingyas.

Roads were blocked and barbed wire barriers put up around the embassy, in a leafy district of the capital, which was patrolled by police in riot gear who set up water cannons.

Around 146,000 Rohingyas have been forced to flee clashes between Rohingya insurgents and the army in Myanmar's northwestern state of Rakhine.

Tens of thousands have crossed the border into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top security officials this week to urge a halt to the bloodshed. Marsudi also visited Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh on Tuesday, to offer help in tackling the crisis.

Some protesters at the Jakarta rally called for the expulsion of the Myanmar ambassador over the issue, as well as for diplomatic ties between the two countries to be severed.

Myanmar embassy staff would be safe, however, said a foreign ministry spokesman, Armanatha Nasir.

'It is the responsibility of the host countries to ensure the safety of all diplomatic missions and their personnel,' the spokesman said. 'Indonesia takes this responsibility seriously.'

At the weekend, a petrol bomb was thrown at the embassy causing a small fire.

Indonesian police have also pledged to bar Islamist groups from staging a rally on Friday at the Borobudur Buddhist temple in central Java to protest against the treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. </s> DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh has accused Myanmar of repeatedly violating its air space and warned that any more "provocative acts" could have "unwarranted consequences", raising the risk of a deterioration in relations already strained by the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar have crossed into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, fleeing a Myanmar government offensive against insurgents that the United Nations has branded a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Bangladesh said Myanmar drones and helicopters had violated its air space three times - on Sept. 10, 12 and 14 - and it had called in a top Myanmar embassy official in Dhaka to complain.

"Bangladesh expressed deep concern at the repetition of such acts of provocation and demanded that Myanmar takes immediate measures to ensure that such violation of sovereignty does not occur again," the ministry said in statement late on Friday.

"These provocative acts may lead to unwarranted consequences."

A Myanmar government spokesman said he did not have information about the incidents Bangladesh had complained about but Myanmar had denied an earlier accusation.

The spokesman, Zaw Htay, said Myanmar would check any information that Bangladesh provided.

"Our two countries are facing the refugee crisis. We need to collaborate with good understanding," he told Reuters.

Bangladesh has for decades faced influxes of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where the Rohingya are regarded as illegal migrants.

Bangladesh was already home to 400,000 Rohingya before the latest crisis erupted on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked about 30 police posts and an army camp, killing a dozen people.

The Myanmar security forces and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes responded with what rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say is a campaign of violence and arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population.

Bangladesh has said all refugees must go home. Myanmar has said it will take back those who can verify their citizenship but most Rohingya are stateless.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was leaving on Saturday for the U.N. General Assembly where she would call for pressure to ensure Myanmar takes everyone back after stopping its "ethnic cleansing', her press secretary, Ihsanul Karim, told Reuters.

The conflict has led to a humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border and raised questions about Myanmar's path under the leadership of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi after nearly 50 years of strict military rule.

The generals still control national security policy but nevertheless, Suu Kyi has been widely criticized abroad for not stopping or condemning the violence.

There is little sympathy for the Rohingya in a country where the end of military rule has unleashed old animosities and the military campaign in Rakhine State is widely supported.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council have urged Myanmar to end the violence, which he said was best described as ethnic cleansing.

Ethnic cleansing is not recognized as a separate crime under international law but allegations of it as part of wider, systematic human rights violations have been heard in international courts.

Myanmar rejects the accusations, saying its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against the insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claimed responsibility for the Aug. 25 attacks and similar, though smaller, attacks in October.

The government has declared ARSA a terrorist organization and accused it of setting the fires and attacking civilians.

The ARSA says it is fighting for the rights of Rohingya and has denied links to foreign Islamists.

Myanmar's army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said the violence - 93 clashes since Aug. 25 - was a bid by the insurgents to "build a stronghold", according to speech to officer trainees, posted on a military Facebook page.

More than 430 people have been killed, most of them insurgents, and about 30,000 non-Muslim villagers have been displaced, Myanmar has said. Human Rights Watch said satellite imagery showed 62 Rohingya villages had been torched.

The United States has called for the protection of civilians and a deputy assistant secretary of state, Patrick Murphy, is due in Myanmar next week.

China, which also vies for influence in Myanmar, joined a U.N. Security Council call for an end to the violence while its ambassador in Myanmar expressed his support for the government's action, Myanmar media reported. Separately, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Bangladesh to release two Myanmar journalists detained last week while covering the refugee crisis. A police official told Reuters the two were found to be working on tourist visas and police were investigating. </s> COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh/YANGON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - About 1,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing escalating violence in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine state had been halted at the Naf river on the border with Bangladesh, Bangladeshi security officials said on Saturday.

The death toll from attacks staged by Rohingya insurgents on Friday has climbed to 89, including 77 insurgents and 12 members of the security forces, Myanmar army said.

The attacks marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since a similar offensive in October that prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses.

At least one fresh attack had taken place on Saturday, according to a Myanmar security source.

National leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemned the early morning raids - in which Rohingya insurgents wielding guns, sticks and home-made bombs assaulted 30 police stations and an army base - while the government evacuated staff and villagers to safety.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as the biggest challenge for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's 16-month old administration. Suu Kyi has been accused of not speaking out for the persecuted minority and of defending the army's brutal counter-offensive after the October attacks.

In a sign that both sides were bracing for more violence, about 1,000 Rohingya arrived at the Naf river separating Myanmar and Bangladesh and got stranded there, a Bangladeshi border guard and Mohammad Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar district near the Myanmar border, told Reuters.

"Many Rohingya people are trying to enter the country, but we have a zero tolerance policy - no one will be allowed," said Hossain.

Bangladeshi officials regularly advocate a hardline approach to refugees in official interviews, but typically end up letting the refugees through. There are hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and 87,000 have arrived since October.

The Myanmar army operation last year was heavily criticised amid reports of civilian killings, rape and arson, sparking allegations by the United Nations of crimes against humanity. Suu Kyi is blocking U.N.-mandated probe into the allegations.

Observers worry that the attacks will spark an even more aggressive army response than last year and trigger communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhist ethnic Rakhines.

"25 Aug attack in N Rakine utmost concern! Violence must stop in Rakhine. Heartfelt sorrow 4 deaths. Beg all sides 2 take restraint! Everyone!" said Yanghee Lee, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar on Twitter.

In a statement late on Friday, Suu Kyi "strongly condemned" "brutal attacks by terrorists on security forces in Rakhine State."

"I would like to commend the members of the police and security forces who have acted with great courage in the face of many challenges," she added.

The government evacuated officials from the home ministry, teachers as well as hundreds of non-Rohingya villagers to army bases and main police stations, the government said.

"The government made six evacuation checkpoints. Some will be evacuated by helicopters and some will be taken out by the security forces," a military source based in Rakhine told Reuters.

The source said the army and police were battling the militants, who staged at least one fresh attack on security forces and destroyed a bridge on Saturday morning.

"They are fighting now, the situation will be tense again today, although there was no fighting at night," said the source. (Additional reporting by Wa Lone in YANGON and Krishna N. Das in NEW DELHI; Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Lincoln Feast) </s> COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh/YANGON: About 1,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing escalating violence in Myanmar had been halted at the border with Bangladesh, Bangladeshi security officials said on Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine state.

The death toll from attacks staged by Rohingya insurgents on Friday has climbed to 89, including 77 insurgents and 12 members of the security forces, Myanmar's army said.

The attacks marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since a similar offensive last October that prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses.

At least one fresh attack had taken place on Saturday, according to a Myanmar security source.

National leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemned Friday's early morning raids - in which Rohingya insurgents wielding guns, sticks and home-made bombs assaulted 30 police stations and an army base - while the government evacuated staff and villagers to safety.

The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as the biggest challenge for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's 16-month old administration.

Suu Kyi has been accused of not speaking out for the persecuted minority and of defending the army's brutal counter-offensive after the October attacks.

In a sign that both sides were bracing for more violence, about 1,000 Rohingya arrived at the Naf river separating Myanmar and Bangladesh and got stranded there, a Bangladeshi border guard and Mohammad Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar district near the Myanmar border, told Reuters.

"Many Rohingya people are trying to enter the country, but we have a zero tolerance policy - no one will be allowed," said Hossain.

Bangladeshi officials regularly advocate a hardline approach to refugees in official interviews, but typically end up letting the refugees through. There are hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and 87,000 have arrived since October.

The Myanmar army operation last year was heavily criticised internationally amid reports of civilian killings, rape and arson, sparking allegations by the United Nations of crimes against humanity. Suu Kyi is blocking U.N.-mandated probe into the allegations.

Observers worry that the latest attacks will spark an even more aggressive army response and trigger communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhist ethnic Rakhines.

"25 Aug attack in N Rakine utmost concern! Violence must stop in Rakhine. Heartfelt sorrow 4 deaths. Beg all sides 2 take restraint! Everyone!" said Yanghee Lee, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar on Twitter.

In a statement late on Friday, Suu Kyi "strongly condemned" "brutal attacks by terrorists on security forces in Rakhine State."

"I would like to commend the members of the police and security forces who have acted with great courage in the face of many challenges," she added.

The government said it had evacuated officials, teachers and hundreds of non-Rohingya villagers to army bases and main police stations.

"Some will be evacuated by helicopters and some will be taken out by the security forces," a military source based in Rakhine told Reuters.

Military sources and residents told Reuters the fiercest fighting took place only a few kilometres east and south of the centre of the major town of Maungdaw in the hamlets of Myo Thu Gyi and Nyaung Chaung.

A resident in Maungdaw contacted by Reuters by telephone said he heard what sounded like shelling in the direction of the Myo Thu Gyi.

"A lot of police and army vehicles went to the area as the fighting erupted between the security forces and Muslim groups," said the source.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) which instigated the October attacks claimed responsibility for the offensive, presenting it as a defence against the Myanmar army.

Myanmar declared ARSA, previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, a terrorist organisation in the wake of the attacks. President Htin Kyaw's office and Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing also "discussed the issues of applying more security forces and using helicopters", the government said.

Kori Mullah, a Rohingya resident from Maungdaw, said his family did not dare to go out of the house and the town was tense and quiet.

"The roads are empty. Schools, shops and markets are all closed down. People don't go out," he said.

Rakhine Buddhist villagers from Taman Thar village, some 50 km (30 miles) north of Maungdaw, said they spent Friday night at a monastery with 500 non-Muslim residents of the area.

"The military patrol arrived near our village, so there were no clashes at night," Maung Thein Hla, one of the fleeing residents, told Reuters by telephone.

"We felt better about our security because the army was near us."
Bangladesh accuses the Myanmar Army of laying landmines on the border between both countries to prevent the return of fleeing Rohingya refugees. Myanmar denies the Bangladeshi claims.