Over 100 Rohingya Muslims arrived in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Wednesday on a wooden boat, adding to the growing number of refugees fleeing persecution and unrest in Myanmar, The Associated Press reports.
This latest incident underscores the challenges faced by the Rohingya community amid rising human trafficking concerns.
According to local police chief Nova Suryandaru, the boat was carrying primarily women and children when it ran aground near Pereulak village in East Aceh district after its engine malfunctioned. Authorities are currently working to gather information regarding the identities of the refugees.
One refugee informed officials that the vessel had departed from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, aiming to reach Malaysia. However, Suryandaru suspects that human traffickers may have deliberately sabotaged the boat to prevent the refugees from being sent back to sea.
The Indonesian government has vowed to take “firm action” against those involved in human trafficking activities, as the influx of Rohingya refugees continues to escalate. In the past year alone, more than 600 Rohingya have arrived in East Aceh, with recent landings involving over 260 particularly weak and hungry individuals, primarily women and children.
Indonesia has called upon the international community for assistance in addressing the crisis, which has seen approximately 1 million Rohingya currently residing in camps in Bangladesh. This figure includes around 740,000 who fled a severe “clearance campaign” launched by Myanmar’s security forces in 2017, an operation marked by widespread allegations of mass rapes and killings.
The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority, face significant discrimination in Myanmar, where they are largely denied citizenship and basic rights, leaving them vulnerable to persecution and violence.
