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UNHCR calls for Indonesia to let in Rohingya stranded at sea off Aceh

14 days ago | View Counts :702
International News

Reuters, BangkokPost, 24 October, 2024


JAKARTA - The United Nations' refugee agency called on Indonesiato let in about 150 Rohingya refugees stranded off Acehprovince for almost a week, as local media reported police had arrested threepeople on charges of human trafficking.


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 fishingcommunity at Labuhan Haji port in South Aceh, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Fishermen found the boat last Thursday, and the children on board had askedfor food and water after weeks at sea, he said.

"We brought them bread and water, their condition was soworrying," Jabal said.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) called on the government to allow theRohingya, a minority group who have faced persecution in Myanmar, to landsafely, spokesperson Mitra Salima Suryono told Reuters.

"We continue to communicate with the authorities. Our priority is thesafety of the Rohingya on board," she said.

More than 2,300 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia last year, UNHCRdata showed, more than the combined total of arrivals in the previous fouryears. They have faced increasing rejection in Indonesia as localsgrow frustrated at the number of arrivals.

Most refugee arrivals happen between November and April, when the seas inthe region are generally calmer and members of the Muslim minority try toleave Myanmar.

Detik.com, an Indonesian media site,reported regional police spokesperson Joko Krisdiyanto said the boat had leftCox's Bazar in Bangladesh and travelled to the Andaman Islands in the secondweek of October before heading to Aceh.

Police suspected human trafficking as the Rohingya were asked to pay beforebeing transported to Indonesia, he said, and Aceh police had arrested threeIndonesians.

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