Fishermen rescued 116 Rohingya refugees, mostly hungry and weak women and children, after their rickety boat sank, officials said.
The group sailed from the Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh hoping to reach Indonesia or Malaysia in search of a better life, when it became stranded on an island in Indonesia’s northern province of Aceh, said local police chief Nova Suryandaru.
“Residents helped them as they looked very weak from hunger and dehydration,” he said, though he added that many locals were opposed to their long-term stay.
Between February and October, 230 refugees landed in East Aceh district, and 173 of them left shelter on their own.
Indonesia has appealed to the international community for help following a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since last year, where about one million predominantly Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live. — AP
