Myanmar yesterday rebuffed a ceasefire declared by Muslim Rohingya insurgents to enable the delivery of aid to thousands of displaced people in the violence-racked state of Rakhine, declaring simply that it did not negotiate with terrorists.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire, starting yesterday.

The impact of Arsa's move is unclear, but it does not appear to have been able to put up significant resistance against the military force unleashed in Rakhine state, where thousands of homes have been burned down and dozens of villages destroyed.

Arsa's declaration drew no formal response from the military or the government of Myanmar. However, the spokesman for Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said on Twitter: "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."

Myanmar says its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against Arsa, which the government has declared a terrorist organisation.

'CEASEFIRE UNTIL OCT 9'

"The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) hereby declares a temporary cessation of offensive military operations," the group said in a statement on its Twitter account.

It urged "all humanitarian actors" to resume aid delivery to "all victims of humanitarian crisis irrespective of ethnic or religious background" during the one-month ceasefire until October 9.

Arsa called on Myanmar to "reciprocate this humanitarian pause" in fighting. The Myanmar army says it has killed nearly 400 militants so far, while some Rohingya refugees have complained they were forced to fight by Arsa.

The first Arsa attacks in October last year were less ambitious, but the subsequent military response by a security force notorious for its scorched-earth response to insurgency sent 90,000 Rohingya fleeing across the border.

That means over a third of the estimated 1.1 million Rohingya in Rakhine state have fled in less than a year.

[From Reuters and AFP]