UNHCR calls on Indonesia to assist refugees; rejected Rohingya boat sighted off Indonesia coast, says naval official

Newly arrived Rohingya refugees are stranded on a boat as the nearby community decided not to allow them to land after providing water and food in Pineung, Aceh province on November 16, 2023. - AFP

JAKARTA (AFP): A boat carrying Rohingya refugees that was forced back to sea earlier this week was sighted Saturday several miles off the coast of Indonesia's westernmost region, according to a local commander.

The group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province on Thursday, but residents told them not to land.