Nine policemen have been killed in a militant attack in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, police said on Sunday, as tensions ratchet up in a state riven by ethnic and religious conflict.

The attack late Saturday took place in Yoetayoke village, just an hour north of Rakhine state's capital Sittwe.

"Nine police were killed, one was injured and another one is missing," a senior police officer told AFP, not wanting to be named.

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