Myanmar’s Navy escorted two boats to its western shores on Thursday, one of which was packed with refugees.
The government says the vessels were carrying people from Bangladesh, not Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine State. However, it used the word “Bengali,” also the official government term for the Rohingya.
“There are 208 people onboard the vessel, of them 10 is [sic] the age of about 14 years and the remaining are aged between 30 and 40,” a post on a Facebook page connected to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information says. “They are altogether 219 people including nine crew members and two Bengalis [sic] interpreters.”
According to the post, the boat full of people had made a u-turn to avoid regional authorities patrolling the waters. The current refugee crisis has been sparked by a crackdown on trafficking, which disrupted smuggling routes and left thousands abandoned by brokers in the middle of the sea.
It’s unclear if the refugees will be allowed to stay in Rakhine State or sent to Bangladesh.
Photo: Facebook/MOI Webportal Myanmar
