Navy says 104 individuals discovered on board a trawler suspected to have originated from Myanmar and heading to Indonesia.
Sri Lanka’s navy has rescued 104 Rohingya adrift off the Indian Ocean island nation’s northern coast, an official stated.
Tens of hundreds of primarily Muslim Rohingya endure hardships in cramped refugee camps in Bangladesh after they escaped violence by the Myanmar navy. The United Nations stated the navy operation was carried out with a “genocidal intent” and it was investigating Myanmar officers.
Many Rohingya in Bangladesh and Myanmar danger their lives yearly by making an attempt to succeed in Southeast Asian nations similar to Malaysia and Indonesia on rickety vessels. Their numbers have surged following deteriorating circumstances within the camps and final yr’s navy coup in Myanmar.
The boat was first detected by the Sri Lanka navy when it was 3.5 nautical miles (6.5km) from the shore.
A search and rescue operation was launched to finally tow the vessel to the island nation’s northern harbour on Sunday night time, navy spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya stated.
“The individuals have been handed over to the police,” Wickramasuriya advised Reuters information company. “The police will current them earlier than a Justice of the Peace who will determine the following step.”
A navy assertion stated 104 Myanmar nationals had been discovered on board the small trawler suspected to have originated from Myanmar and was heading to Indonesia when it bumped into engine bother in tough seas.
Wickramasuriya stated 39 girls and 23 minors had been among the many rescued individuals. An 80-year-old man, in addition to a girl and her two youngsters, all affected by minor illness, had been admitted to hospital.
In 2017, greater than 730,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following the Myanmar navy crackdown that witnesses stated included mass killings and rape.
Myanmar authorities say they had been battling an armed riot and deny finishing up systematic atrocities. However rights teams and media have documented killings of civilians and the burning of villages in the course of the crackdown.
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