A boat carrying suspected ethnic Rohingya migrants is seen detained in Malaysian territorial waters, in Langkawi, Malaysia, on April 5, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)
Malaysian authorities say they have intercepted a fishing boat carrying more than 200 refugees, believed to be members of the prosecuted ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims.
According to a statement by the Malaysian maritime enforcement agency, the large boat, carrying 202 refugees, was found and detained in the vicinity of the northern resort island of Langkawi, off the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, on Sunday morning.
"Authorities are investigating complaints by the migrants that three individuals -- a boat captain and two crew members -- were operatives of a human smuggling ring," said Zulinda Ramly, deputy director of the agency.
The three suspected human traffickers apparently escaped to sea after bringing the boat into Malaysian waters.
The official noted that the refugees included 152 men, 45 women and five children. She added that the migrants would be handed over to immigration officials for attempting to enter the country illegally after the questioning process was completed.
Zulinda stressed that maritime officials had taken precautionary measures to prevent any possible transmission of the coronavirus disease while handling the group.
For desperate Rohingya Muslims, who suffer greatly in Myanmar, Malaysia is a favored destination.
More than 100,000 Rohingya Muslims currently live in Malaysia after fleeing Myanmar, their homeland, but they are considered illegal immigrants as the country does not recognize the refugee status.
Back in February, at least 15 members of the ethnic minority lost their lives when their boat, which was carrying some 130 refugees, capsized in the Bay of Bengal while trying to reach Malaysia.
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims were killed, injured, arbitrarily arrested, or raped by Myanmarese soldiers and Buddhist mobs between November 2016 and August 2017 in Myanmars Rakhine state, prompting some 800,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they currently live in camps in dire conditions.
Rohingya Muslims, who have lived in Myanmar for generations, are denied citizenship and branded illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which likewise denies them citizenship.
The United Nations has already described the Rohingya as the most persecuted community in the world.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/15486
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