Myanmar Rohingyas in Indonesia face uncertain future as local anger rises

Children and local residents protest against the arrival of Rohingya refugees near a temporary camp where they are staying at a port in Sabang island, Indonesia's Aceh province on December 18, 2023. The mostly Muslim Rohingya were the target of a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military that is the subject of a UN genocide probe. Around a million have fled to Bangladesh, and from there thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. - AFP

LHOKSEUMAVE (AFP): On a remote island in northwestern Indonesia, just miles from the white sand beaches where more than a thousand Rohingya refugees have arrived since mid-November, throngs of residents marched outside a temporary shelter housing the newcomers.

"Shoo them away!" a protest leader chanted, met by cheers.