More than 500 Rohingya refugees land in Indonesia: UN agency

Rohingya refugees, who were earlier refused landing twice by local communities and left stranded off the coast, look on following their arrival at a village community hall in Lapang Barat, Aceh province, on Sunday, November 19, 2023. - AFP

BIREUEN, Indonesia (AFP): Three boats filled with more than 500 Rohingya refugees landed in Indonesia's westernmost province on Sunday, a UN agency said, in one of the biggest arrivals since Myanmar launched a military crackdown on the minority group in 2017.

The mostly Muslim Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, often in flimsy boats, to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.