BANGKOK (AP) — More than 200 members of the Rohingya minority fleeing Burma have been detained in southern Thailand after their boat ran aground.
Thai district chief Watcharasak Chulayanon says the 219 men aboard swam ashore after their boat got stuck off Wednesday off the coast of Satun province.
The men told Thai authorities they left Burma in late August wanting to go to Malaysia but rough seas put them off course.
Muslim Rohingyas face discrimination in Buddhist Burma, where sectarian violence over the past year left hundreds killed and more than 100,000 displaced from their homes. Even before the unrest, many became boat people seeking asylum and work in other countries, especially Malaysia, which has a Muslim majority.
Thailand has already detained more than 1,700 Rohingya who arrived earlier this year.
Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/09/12/rohingya-boat-people-detained-in-southern-thailand/
No comments:
Post a Comment