At least 20 people have been killed in a new wave of communal unrest in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine.

At least 20 people, both Rakhine and Muslim, have been killed in clashes since October 21.

Rakhine state spokesman Myo Thant The death toll can reach about 50.

Thant also said that several people were injured during the recent clash which broke out between extremist Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the country’s western state.

Meanwhile, UN chief in Yangon Ashok Nigam voiced concern on Thursday over recent reports of killings and displacement of minority Muslims following a new round of violence against Rohingyas.

Tensions have heightened across Rakhine, forcing Muslim people to flee to emergency camps located in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe.

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and has classified them as illegal migrants, even though the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origins, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.

Some reports suggest more than hundreds of Rohingyas have been killed in Rakhine over the past few months.