The ongoing conflicts in Rakhine State, where theMyanmar military forces and the Arakan Army (AA) fighters have been engaging ingun fighting, were a topic of discussion in the United Nations Security Councilbriefing on 4 April.

During the open meeting, representatives from theRussian Federation, China, and the United Nations officials discussed theRakhine issues.

"Root causes of the current problems stem fromthe past exploitation by western colonial policies and the current problems inRakhine State are due to London's favourite divide-and-conquer policy,"said a representative from Russia.

"There has been a resurgence of conflicts in theRakhine region and it’s an internal affair of Myanmar. We urge theinternational community to respect Myanmar's sovereignty, territorialintegrity, freedom and unity before acting in this regard," said a Chinesediplomat.

"In Rakhine State, fighting between the military forces and the AA fighters has reached an unprecedented level ofviolence.  The AA fighters have reportedly gained territorial control overthe central Rakhine localities and they are trying to expand their areas to thenorth," said Khaled Khiari, assistant secretary-general for the MiddleEast, Asia and the Pacific.

They also discussed the security situation ofRohingyas in Rakhine State, provision of humanitarian aid for the local people,importance of preventing the soldiers’ attacks and political oppression, andfinally the necessity to halt the military's airstrikes.