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| Aung San Suu Kyi (centre) arrived in Sittwe guarded by armed security personnel |
Myanmar's de facto
leader Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Rakhine for the first time since violence
erupted in the state in late August.
She is visiting the
regional capital Sittwe and other towns during a one-day unannounced trip.
She has been
criticised around the world for not stopping a military crackdown on Rohingya
Muslims, amid allegations of ethnic cleansing.
About 600,000
Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August.
The unrest in
troubled Rakhine was sparked by deadly attacks on police stations across the
state, blamed on a newly emerged militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army (Arsa).
Scores of people
were killed in the ensuing military crackdown, and there are widespread
allegations of villages being burned and Rohingya being driven out.
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| A Rohingya village that was burnt on 7 September - Ms Suu Kyi said violence had stopped before then |
Myanmar's military
says its operations are aimed at rooting out militants, and has repeatedly
denied targeting civilians. Witnesses, refugees and journalists have contested
this.
What sparked latest
violence in Rakhine? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41082689
Who are the Rohingya
group behind attacks? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41160679
On Thursday,
government spokesman Zaw Htay told the AFP that Ms Suu Kyi was "now in
Sittwe and will go to Maungdaw and Buthiduang too".
"It will be a
day trip," he added.
It was not
immediately clear whether Ms Suu Kyi would also visit any Rohingya villages.
A Reuters reporter
saw Ms Suu Kyi board a military helicopter in Sittwe on Thursday morning local
time, the news agency reports. She was accompanied by about 20 people.
Ms Suu Kyi has
recently outlined a new plan to end the conflict and bring more development to
Rakhine.
She said this would
be done by the civilian government, in partnership with local business groups
and foreign donors.
However,
international aid agencies are still not being allowed full access to the
affected areas, the BBC's Jonathan Head says.
And there has been
no agreement yet with the Bangladesh government over how to repatriate the
Rohingya refugees, our correspondent adds.
In a major speech in
September, Ms Suu Kyi condemned rights abuses - but did not blame the army or
address allegations of ethnic cleansing.
Reality Check: Are
Suu Kyi's Rohingya claims correct? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41312931
Myanmar conflict:
The view from Yangon http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41163655
The Rohingya, a
stateless mostly Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Rakhine, have long
experienced persecution in Myanmar, which says they are illegal immigrants.
In September,
Bangladesh announced it would limit the movement of the Rohingya, saying they
must stay in fixed places allocated to them by the government and not travel
elsewhere.
Bangladesh also said
shelters would be built for up to 400,000 people near the city of Cox's Bazar.
Source BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41841109
