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Myanmar people displaced from the recent fighting between government troops and ethnic Arakan Army take shelter at a displacement camp housing over 700 people in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine state on December 23, 2018. Image Credit: AFP

Naypyidaw, Myanmar: Myanmar has called on its military to "launch operations" against ethnic Rakhine rebels behind a deadly attack on four police stations last week, a government spokesman said on Monday, as a surge of violence grips the restive western state.

"The president's office has already instructed the Tatmadaw (the army) to launch operations to crack down on the insurgents," Zaw Htay told reporters at a press conference in the capital, Naypyidaw.