The ability of the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army to mount a much more ambitious assault last month compared with its attacks in northern Arakan State last year indicates that many young Rohingya men have been galvanised into supporting the group, sources say.

Some protesters at the Jakarta rally called for the expulsion of the Burmese ambassador over the issue, as well as for diplomatic ties between the two countries to be severed.

At least 21 villages around Burma have declared themselves "no-go zones" for Muslims, report says.

Around 120,000 displaced people, mostly Rohingya Muslims, in camps in Arakan State are not receiving food supplies or healthcare after the United Nations and aid groups suspended operations following government accusations of supporting insurgents.

The firebrand nationalist monk U Wirathu headlined a rally on Wednesday at which he spoke in dire terms of the “marauding” threat posed by Muslims in western Burma, labelled international aid groups operating there “terrorists,” and thwarted Buddhist authorities’ attempts to rein in his public profile.

Over 18,000 Rohingya Muslims, many sick and some with bullet wounds, have fled the worst violence to grip northwestern Burma in at least five years, while thousands more are stuck at the Bangladesh border or scrambling to reach it.