of Myanmar reported on 1 January that 30 insurgents of the Arakan Army had attacked members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) that day in Bathidaung Township's Saytaung village, leaving one policeman gravely wounded. The Arakan Army denied responsibility, but admitted it had clashed with other members of Myanmar's security forces. On 4 January, around 300 members of the Arakan Army launched pre-dawn attacks on four border police outposts—Kyaung Taung, Nga Myin Taw, Ka Htee La and Kone Myint—in northern Buthidaung Township. Thirteen members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) were killed and nine others were injured, whilst 40 firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition were looted. The Arakan Army later stated that it had captured nine BGP personnel and five civilians, and that three of its fighters were also killed in the attacks. Following the attacks, the Office of the President of Myanmar held a high-level meeting on national security in the capital Naypyidaw on 7 January, and instructed the Defense Ministry to increase troop deployments in the areas that were attacked and to use aircraft if necessary. Myanmar Army's response and subsequent clashes Myanmar Army soldiers from the 22nd Light Infantry Division, elements of the 66th and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, and other battalions from the Western Command were reportedly involved in the subsequent military offensive against the Arakan Army. Clashes were reported in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Rathedaung and Ponnagyun Townships, located in the northern and central parts of Rakhine State. The Myanmar Army claimed it killed 13 Arakan Army insurgents in military operations between 5 and 16 January. Immediately after the initial attacks, the Rakhine State government issued a notice blocking non-governmental organisations and UN agencies, except for the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme, from travelling to rural areas in these townships affected by the conflict. The fighting prompted 5,000 civilians to flee from their homes and to take shelter in monasteries and communal areas across the region, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Civilian casualties, arbitrary detention of ethnic Rakhine villagers, looting of homes, and military blockage of food aid and medical relief were also reported. A mine explosion killed two police officers and injured two others in Ponnagyun Township on 27 February, after which the police convoy they were travelling with came under gunfire. The police blamed the attack on Arakan Army.