200 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar sent back to sea by Indonesia locals
- The group from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off the coast of Aceh on Thursday but angry locals told them not to land their vessel
- The vessel then travelled further north, where refugees landed on a beach before being sent back out to sea, with supplies and their boat repaired
Rohingya refugees in an overcrowded wooden boat have been turned away from western Indonesia and sent back to sea, residents said on Friday.
The group of around 250 from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off the coast of Aceh province on Thursday, they said, but angry locals told them not to land the boat.
Some refugees then swam ashore and collapsed from exhaustion on the beach. The UN later said the boat held about 200 people.
After they were forced back the decrepit vessel travelled dozens of kilometres to the coast of North Aceh, where the refugees landed on a beach. But locals again sent them back to the boat and out to sea late Thursday.
By Friday, the vessel, which some on board said had sailed from Bangladesh about three weeks ago, was no longer visible from where it had landed on North Aceh’s shores, residents said.
Thousands from the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, often in flimsy boats, to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
