UN says dozens killed in air raids on two states over the past three weeks.

There has been much attention on the Myanmar military's campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

But over the past few weeks, the Myanmar army has stepped up attacks on ethnic armed groups such as the Arakan Army, who are mainly Buddhist fighters fighting for greater autonomy.

The United Nations says air raids and shelling have killed at least 32 people in two states over the past three weeks.

What is behind the uptick in violence and why has Myanmar's military rejected offers of a ceasefire?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Phil Robertson - deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch.

Azeem Ibrahim - director at the Center for Global Policy and author of The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar's Genocide.

Laetitia van den Assum - member of the Rakhine Advisory Commission and a former ambassador for the Netherlands to the UK.

Source: Al Jazeera News