The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee to be the first U.S. ambassador to Myanmar in more than two decades, the latest step in greater engagement with a nation undergoing dramatic reforms.

Derek Mitchell, a veteran U.S. policymaker on Asia, was confirmed by unanimous consent, capping a startling series of developments in recent months which saw the two nations normalize diplomatic relations following democratic reforms in the reclusive Southeast Asian nation.

Thousands of refugees who have fled to China from war-torn northern Myanmar face a humanitarian crisis due to lack of adequate shelter, food, water and healthcare, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

The New York-based group accused China of turning back or forcibly repatriating some displaced people from Myanmar's northern Kachin state, where a 17-year ceasefire between the military and armed rebels collapsed last June.

More than 80 people have been killed in a wave of communal violence in western Myanmar this month, a government official said on Thursday.

He said about 71 people had died in more than a week of clashes, in addition to 10 Muslims killed on June 3 by a Buddhist mob seeking revenge for the rape and murder of a local woman -- the apparent spark for the unrest.

The Philippines sought Myanmar's support in its maritime territorial dispute with China as the foreign ministers of the two Southeast Asian countries met on Friday.

Philippine foreign secretary Albert del Rosario said he brought up the two-month long standoff in the South China Sea in his talks with visiting Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Manila.

Sectarian bloodshed has displaced tens of thousands of people in Myanmar, left dozens dead and many homes destroyed in western Rakhine state, a senior official said Thursday.

Twenty-nine people -- 16 Muslims and 13 Buddhists -- have been killed since Friday, with scores more wounded and nearly 2,600 homes burned, said Htein Lin, security and border affairs minister for Rakhine.

Twenty-eight people have been killed and dozens more wounded in several days of sectarian clashes in western Myanmar, a government official said Thursday.

A state of emergency has been declared for Rakhine state, which has been rocked by a wave of rioting and arson, posing a major test for the reformist government which took power last year.

Around 25 people have been killed and scores more wounded in five days of sectarian violence in western Myanmar, a senior government official told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

"About 25 people have been killed during the unrest," the official said, requesting anonymity, without providing details of how they died or whether they were Buddhists or Muslims. A further 41 have been wounded, he said.

Myanmar on Sunday imposed curfews in major towns across western Rakhine state, official media reported, amid fears of further unrest following an eruption of deadly sectarian violence.

Television and radio reports said the situation was calm after police and the army stepped in to control rioting on Friday and Saturday that saw hundreds of Buddhist villagers' homes set ablaze and left seven dead in the state, which borders Bangladesh.

Myanmar on Friday called for sanctions imposed on the country to be completely lifted as they are hurting efforts to attract foreign investment amid a historic reform drive.

U Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political advisor to President Thein Sein, said that without fuller access to the Southeast Asian nation companies were adopting a "wait and see" attitude.

About 10 members of Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were detained for questioning Tuesday for joining Myanmar's biggest protest in almost five years, lawmakers said.

They were later released without charge.