Roads were blocked and barbed wire barriers put up around the embassy of Myanmar in Indonesia`s capital Jakarta as thousands of protesters, led by Islamist groups, held a rally near the Myanmar embassy today. They had gathered to protest against the treatment of Rohingya Muslims and demand the snapping of ties between the two countries.

Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims and there have been several anti-Myanmar protests in Jakarta and the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur over the treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Rohingyas.

Some protesters chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), while others shouted slogans such as "Slaughter Myanmar" and "Burn the embassy".

READ: Suu Kyi feels the pressure as 125,000 Rohingya forced to flee

"Buddhists should respect Muslims in Myanmar in the same way that Muslims respected Buddhists in Indonesia", one speaker told the crowd, using a loud-hailer.

Almost 125,000 Rohingyas have been forced to flee clashes between Rohingya insurgents and the army in Myanmar's northwestern state of Rakhine. Tens of thousands have crossed the border into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Protests were held against Myanmar`s treatment of Rohingya Muslims in several big cities in the region to put pressure on the country`s leadership. Video by Reuters.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top security officials this week to urge a halt to the bloodshed. Marsudi also visited Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh on Tuesday, to offer help in tackling the crisis.

Some protesters at the Jakarta rally called for the expulsion of the Myanmar ambassador over the issue, as well as for diplomatic ties between the two countries to be severed.

At the weekend, a petrol bomb was thrown at the embassy causing a small fire, but the tensions will not effect Myanmar embassy`s staff foreign ministry of Indonesia`s spokesman, Armanatha Nasir, said.

"It is the responsibility of the host countries to ensure the safety of all diplomatic missions and their personnel," the spokesman said. "Indonesia takes this responsibility seriously."

According to Reuters, the Indonesian police have promised to bar Islamist groups from staging another rally against the treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims at the Borobudur Buddhist temple in central Java on Friday. 

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