Aljazeera
27th July 2020
Malaysia has stepped up patrols around its maritime borders as Rohingya attempt to reach the country by boat.
Malaysia has stepped up patrols in waters near Langkawi island since the start of the coronavirus pandemic [File: Olivia Harris/Reuters]
Twenty-six Rohingya refugees, who had been feared drowned while trying to swim ashore close to the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi, have been found alive, hiding in the vegetation on a nearby islet, a senior coastguard official said on Monday.
Malaysia does not recognise refugee status, but the country is a common destination for the mostly Muslim Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom live in densely populated camps in Bangladesh after escaping a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
