Hundreds of Rohingya refugees rescued from Aceh beach in Indonesia
More than 100 hungry and physically challenged Rohingya Muslim refugees were rescued on a beach in the northern Indonesian province of Aceh on Sunday (March 8th) after a week-long drowning, officials said.
The group reached Janka Beach near the village of Alu Bua Pasi in Biruen District on Sunday morning. Badruddin Yunus, a leader of the local tribal fishing community, said villagers saw 114 Rohingya in a wooden boat and helped them rush to the beach and then informed the authorities.
"After a long and difficult voyage, they looked very weak due to hunger and dehydration," Yunus said. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
Yunus said 56 men, 21 women and 35 children had been sheltered and supported by villagers, police and the army. Local authorities, including the Coronavirus Task Force, have come to their aid, Yunus said.
More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims from Buddhist-majority Myanmar took refuge in refugee camps in Bangladesh in August 2016 during an army operation in the wake of an attack by a rebel group. The raid involved allegations of gang rape, murder and the burning of thousands of homes by Myanmar's security forces.
Many of the Rohingya refugees are trying to leave Bangladesh's overcrowded camps and cross the risky sea route to other Muslim-majority countries in the region.
Their common destination is Muslim-majority Malaysia. Traffickers take refugees there with the promise of a better life. But many Rohingya refugees were arrested as soon as they arrived in Malaysia.
Although Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the UNHCR states that regulations issued by the President of Indonesia in 2016 provide a national legal framework for the treatment and rescue of refugees in distressed boats at the country's borders.
These provisions have been in place for years. Most recently, in December last year, 105 Rohingya refugees were rescued off the coast of Biruen on their way to Loksumawe, a coastal town in North Aceh District.
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