insurgents in a reprisal attack. Three decapitated bodies were found in Rathedaung Township on 31 July. According to a government official, they were murdered by Rohingya insurgents. The bodies of six ethnic Mro farmers, reportedly killed by Rohingya insurgents, were found in Maungdaw Township on 3 August. In mid-August 2017, Bangladesh security forces had stepped up its border patrols, following reports of 1,100 Rohingya migrating into Bangladesh in the past two weeks amid fresh tensions in Rakhine state. After the October 2016 clashes in Myanmar, the refugee flow had slowed until hundreds more soldiers were deployed recently. 25 August 2017 attacks The government announced on 25 August that 71 people (one soldier, one immigration officer, 10 policemen and 59 insurgents) had been killed overnight during coordinated attacks by up to 150 insurgents on 24 police posts and the 552nd Light Infantry Battalion army base in Rakhine State. The Myanmar Army stated that the attack began at around 1:00 am, when insurgents armed with bombs, light weapons and machetes blew up a bridge. The army further stated that a majority of the attacks occurred around 3:00 am to 4:00 am. ARSA claimed they were taking "defensive actions" in 25 different locations and accused government soldiers of raping and killing civilians. The group also claimed that Rathedaung had been under a blockade for more than two weeks, starving the Rohingya, and that the government forces were preparing to do the same in Maungdaw. Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, sharply criticised the insurgent Rohingya attacks as an attempt to undermine others' efforts to "build peace and harmony in Rakhine state." The United Nations condemned the attacks, while calling on all sides to refrain from violence. Military crackdown operations and violence Following attacks by ARSA on 25 August, Myanmar's armed forces led a crackdown against Rohingyas in Rakhine State. The military referred to the action as "clearance operations", but critics argued that the targets were Rohingya civilians and that it was an attempt to drive the Rohingya out of Myanmar. On 26 August, Myanmar troops allegedly opened fire on Rohingya civilians as they attempted to escape into Bangladesh. The violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people in Myanmar's Rakhine state. At least 1,000 have been killed by 7 September, according to Yanghee Lee, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Myanmar. She added that the figure is "very