UN says food aid for Myanmar's N Rakhine state to resume

GENEVA — The UN's food assistance agency says Myanmar's government has given the go-ahead for it to resume operations in northern Rakhine state after a two-month hiatus.

Spokeswoman Bettina Luescher of the World Food Program says the agency was working out details about the extent and timing of the resumption of food assistance to the region, which has seen an exodus of Rohingya people into neighboring Bangladesh.

WFP had suspended its operations after Myanmar's security forces began targeting the Rohingya following militant attacks on Aug. 25.

Luescher said that before then, the agency supported 100,000 people in northern Rakhine state, including both ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya populations.

The UN estimates that more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled northern Rakhine to Bangladesh since the crackdown by security forces began.