Bangladesh rescued hundreds of Rohingya who had been adrift for weeks but more than two dozen died. In February, at least 15 Rohingya drowned after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal as they tried to get to Malaysia [File: Stringer/EPA]
Coastguard says more than two dozen died as the boat drifted at sea for about two months.
Thu 16 April 2020:
The coastguard in Bangladesh said on Thursday it had rescued nearly 400 Rohingya people who had been adrift at sea for weeks after failing to reach Malaysia but that more than two dozen people had died.
“They were at sea for about two months and were starving,” an official from the coastguard told Reuters news agency.
The official said a “final decision” had been made to send the 382 people on board to neighbouring Myanmar.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 following a brutal army crackdown and violence continues in the western state of Rakhine where some remain in squalid camps. Those forced into Bangladesh live in sprawling refugee camps near the border with Myanmar, which is under investigation at the International Court of Justice for genocide against the ethnic group.
On April 5, Malaysian authorities intercepted a boat found drifting off the coast of the northwestern island of Langkawi and detained more than 200 Rohingya, including children, who were found on board.
Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Refugees, is a popular destination for the mainly Muslim Rohingya.
In February, at least 15 Rohingya who had been living in the refugee camps in Teknaf died after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal. Reports said they had also been trying to get to Malaysia.
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