UN warns that two boats adrift in the Andaman Sea with 400 Rohingya aboard desperately need rescue

A wooden boat that carried Rohingya Muslims is seen off the coast in Sabang, Aceh province, Indonesia, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Riska Munawarah

BANGKOK (AP): An estimated 400 Rohingya Muslims believed to be aboard two boats adrift in the Andaman Sea without adequate supplies could die if more is not done to rescue them, according to the UN refugee agency and aid workers.

The number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing by boats in a seasonal exodus - usually from squalid, overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh - has been rising since last year due to cuts to food rations and a spike in gang violence.