Any armed insurgency must be wiped out, said Myanmar military chief said.

Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing made the comment in his reply to a media question over ongoing fighting with Arakan Army (AA) on the sidelines of Combined Fleet Exercise-Sea Shield 2019 of Myanmar's Navy near Coco Island on March 18.

"Any armed insurgent must be wiped out if they surface. If they want to go in peace without holding arms, we have to act in a peaceful manner," said the military chief.

Fighting started between the Myanmar army and AA after the latter launched attacks on police outposts in Rakhine State on January 4, 2019 which fell on Independence Day.

UNOCHA Myanmar issued a press release on March 11 saying that the fighting between the army and AA in Rakhine State displaced 3,200 local people adding that those IDPs were living at homes of their relatives or Buddhist monasteries.

Clashes are still ongoing in northern Rakhine State displacing more local residents.