Reuters
April 9, 2019
Rohingyas in Bangladesh at the height of the exodus in 2017. Picture: AP
Thirty-seven people believed to be Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have been found on a beach in northern Malaysia, the latest arrivals in what authorities fear could become a new wave of people-smuggling by sea.
Dozens of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, which had experienced a fall in arrivals after a 2015 crackdown.
Last month 35 migrants were found on Sungai Belati beach in the northern state of Perlis.
The latest group of 37 men were detained near the town of Simpang Empat after landing early yesterday, state police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad said.
“We believe they were travelling on a much larger boat, before being transferred into smaller boats at sea and taken to different places,” he said, adding the men were in good health and have been handed over to immigration officials.
More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in 2017, fleeing an army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.
Officials believe the migrants found yesterday are from Myanmar or Bangladesh.
“We are still investigating where the boats are coming from, but we suspect human trafficking syndicates are involved,” Mr Noor Mushar said.
An outbreak of sectarian violence in Rakhine in 2012 prompted tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by sea.
The exodus peaked in 2015, when an estimated 25,000 people fled across the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats.
Bangladesh deployed heavily armed border guards on Sunday to an island near its southern border with Myanmar for the first time in 20 years.
Border Guard Bangladesh distributed images showing dozens of troops carrying assault rifles disembarking at Saint Martin’s Island, a small island in the Bay of Bengal that has caused diplomatic tensions between the neighbours.
Reuters, AFP
Link :https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/rohingya-castaways-herald-new-wave/news-story/97e2d8e143b1d7cec6cdbd10f34907f1
Dozens of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, which had experienced a fall in arrivals after a 2015 crackdown.
Last month 35 migrants were found on Sungai Belati beach in the northern state of Perlis.
The latest group of 37 men were detained near the town of Simpang Empat after landing early yesterday, state police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad said.
“We believe they were travelling on a much larger boat, before being transferred into smaller boats at sea and taken to different places,” he said, adding the men were in good health and have been handed over to immigration officials.
More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh in 2017, fleeing an army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.
Officials believe the migrants found yesterday are from Myanmar or Bangladesh.
“We are still investigating where the boats are coming from, but we suspect human trafficking syndicates are involved,” Mr Noor Mushar said.
An outbreak of sectarian violence in Rakhine in 2012 prompted tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by sea.
The exodus peaked in 2015, when an estimated 25,000 people fled across the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats.
Bangladesh deployed heavily armed border guards on Sunday to an island near its southern border with Myanmar for the first time in 20 years.
Border Guard Bangladesh distributed images showing dozens of troops carrying assault rifles disembarking at Saint Martin’s Island, a small island in the Bay of Bengal that has caused diplomatic tensions between the neighbours.
Reuters, AFP
Link :https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/rohingya-castaways-herald-new-wave/news-story/97e2d8e143b1d7cec6cdbd10f34907f1
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