- Web Master
- October 05, 2024
Reuters, Bangkok Post, 24 October, 2024
Two people on the boat had died and another 11, including a pregnant woman,
had been evacuated to the local hospital, Muhammad Jabal, the head of fishing
community at Labuhan Haji port in South Aceh, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Fishermen found the boat last Thursday, and the children on board had asked
for food and water after weeks at sea, he said.
"We brought them bread and water, their condition was so
worrying," Jabal said.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) called on the government to allow the
Rohingya, a minority group who have faced persecution in Myanmar, to land
safely, spokesperson Mitra Salima Suryono told Reuters.
"We continue to communicate with the authorities. Our priority is the
safety of the Rohingya on board," she said.
More than 2,300 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia last year, UNHCR
data showed, more than the combined total of arrivals in the previous four
years. They have faced increasing rejection in Indonesia as locals
grow frustrated at the number of arrivals.
Most refugee arrivals happen between November and April, when the seas in
the region are generally calmer and members of the Muslim minority try to
leave Myanmar.
Detik.com, an Indonesian media site,
reported regional police spokesperson Joko Krisdiyanto said the boat had left
Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and travelled to the Andaman Islands in the second
week of October before heading to Aceh.
Police suspected human trafficking as the Rohingya were asked to pay before
being transported to Indonesia, he said, and Aceh police had arrested three
Indonesians.