Two boats with more than 260 Rohingya refugees arrives in Indonesia’s coast

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AP) — More than 260 weak and hungry Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have landed in Indonesia in two boats, officials said Monday.

Police and military officers are working with the U.N. refugee agency and the local government in West Pereulak in East Aceh to gather more information about the refugees, who arrived Sunday evening, and keep them safe, East Aceh police chief Nova Suryandaru said.

“We will follow up their presence by coordinating with the UNHCR for further action,” Suryandaru said.

More than 300 Rohingya refugees have landed in East Aceh since last February.

About 1 million Rohingya, who are predominantly Muslim, are living in camps in Bangladesh after leaving Myanmar. They include about 740,000 who fled a brutal “clearance campaign” in 2017 by Myanmar’s security forces, who were accused of committing mass rapes and killings.

The Rohingya minority face widespread discrimination in Myanmar and most are denied citizenship.

Indonesia has appealed for help from the international community following a sharp rise in the number of Rohingya leaving the overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh since last year.

Indonesia, like nearby Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and is not obligated to accept them. However, the country generally provides temporary shelter to refugees in distress.

On Saturday, Malaysian authorities said they turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 Rohingya refugees attempting to enter the country illegally. The Maritime Enforcement Agency reported two more boats were trying to enter after 196 Rohingya landed Friday in the northeastern resort island of Langkawi, where they were detained.

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Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.

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