Arakan News Agency
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday expressed concern over the safety of 56 Rohingya Muslim refugees in Myanmar after they sailed in a boat to Malaysia amid waves of tension.
Some 700,000 Rohingyas fled their homes in Myanmar’s Arakan state for Bangladesh after the army’s crackdown in August led to their flight, with the United Nations and Western countries saying they were reaching ethnic cleansing.
“Given the current bad weather in the waters off the west coast of the border between Thailand and Malaysia, we are concerned about the safety of the refugees,” said Carolyn Glock, a UNHCR spokeswoman in southeast Bangladesh.
“If it turns out that they need relief, we hope they will be rescued and allowed to disembark from the boat in accordance with international maritime law,” she said in an e-mail.
Thailand’s police said the boat was supplied with basic supplies in Thailand on Sunday before sailing back to Malaysia.
UNHCR said it was in contact with Malaysian maritime authorities and was ready to provide the necessary support to refugees upon their arrival.
