Four Rohingya men, including three brothers, were arrested by the police for allegedly setting fire to parts of the Burmese embassy off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur today.

According to a police source, the four believed to be in their late forties or early fifties were being held at the Pudu police station to facilitate investigations.

Also detained for questioning were two women and six children who were with the men when the incident occurred at about 9.30am.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar who visited the site, later confirmed that four members of the Rohingya minority had been arrested and would face charges including attempted murder, Noh said.

The embassy was "70 percent destroyed", he said during a visit to the scene.

The men were also said to be in possession of identification documents issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur.

However, an official at the refugee agency said the three were rejected asylum seekers from two years ago.

UNHCR officer-in-charge Jennifer Ashton said the asylum cases of the trio had been closed since 2002 after they failed to qualify as refugees under the commission's charter.

However, she said the men approached the Kuala Lumpur office again three weeks ago.

"We advised them that they were eligible to be registered as Rohingya letter holders but they refused," she said, adding that the men had not contacted the agency since.

Staff member attacked

In this morning's incident, the foure men climbed into the building and held up the mission staff.

Second secretary of the embassy, Myint Thein Win, was quoted in the press as saying that the men had started the fire in the building using strips of cloth dipped in petrol.

The counsellor was attacked with an axe when he tried to stop them and sustained injuries to his head and hands.

He was rushed to the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital where he underwent immediate surgery.

The police source said the men had also brought plastic bags filled with petrol to be used as bombs.

The fire caused severe damage to parts of the converted bungalow, and led to the collapse of parts of the roof.

Myint was further quoted in a Bernama report as saying that the three men had approached the embassy earlier to have their father declared an honorary war veteran as he was said to have fought a war in Burma.

After failing to do so, they returned to the embassy repeatedly over the past few days.