UN issues call to rescue hundreds of Rohingya adrift at sea

BANGKOK/YANGON (AFP): The United Nations called Saturday for nations to rescue hundreds of Rohingya it said were trapped onboard two unseaworthy vessels adrift in the Andaman Sea.

Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, risk their lives each year in long, expensive sea journeys -- often in boats in poor condition -- trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.