U.N. calls for 'rapid and unimpeded' aid access to Myanmar's Rakhine

FILE PHOTO: The remains of a burned Rohingya village is seen in this aerial photograph near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine State, Myanmar September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

YANGON (Reuters) - The United Nations called on the Myanmar government on Monday to allow “rapid and unimpeded” humanitarian access to Rakhine State, where fighting between government troops and autonomy-seeking rebels has displaced thousands of people.

The Rakhine State government issued a notice last week blocking non-governmental organisations and U.N. agencies from travelling to rural areas in five townships in the northern and central parts of the state affected by the conflict.