92,000 people displaced in N. Myanmar since October: UN agency

At least 92,000 people have been displaced since the last October attacks on police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, a UN spokesman told reporters here Thursday.

The spokesman made the remarks by citing information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

This includes some 69,000 people who have fled across the border into Bangladesh, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

The United Nations estimates that 23,000 people remain displaced in the north of Maungdaw Township where security operations continue, the spokesman said.

"After a three-month interruption in most aid deliveries provided by UN agencies and partners in northern Rakhine, the government has allowed an incremental resumption of some activities," he said.

"With international staff still facing severe movement restrictions, national staff are distributing food and other items in most villages," he said.

"While health clinics and nutrition centres have re-opened in most areas, few people have been accessing them, as the situation remains tense," he said. "People are still afraid to move freely to access services, and movement is restricted by a travel pass requirement."

The UN is calling for the relaxation of travel restrictions in northern Rakhine, both for local people who are impeded in accessing humanitarian aid and basic services, as well as for staff from aid organizations, he added. Endit