''New government curbs on aid activities in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State “are affecting at least 50,000 people,” the United Nations has said in an internal note, highlighting the growing impact of recent fighting on the civilian population. The Rakhine State government this month blocked non-governmental organizations and UN agencies from travelling to rural areas in five townships in northern and central parts of the state affected by conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross and UN World Food Programme were exempted from the ban on aid activity in the region, where fighting between government troops and autonomy-seeking ethnic Rakhine rebels has displaced thousands. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) summarized recent information gathered from aid organizations on the impact of the restrictions in the two central Rakhine townships of Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun...''