UN: Hundreds missing after Rohingya refugee boat overturns in Andaman Sea
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\nSome 250 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals are missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.<\/p>\n
Loaded with men, women and children, the trawler reportedly sank due to strong winds, \u201crough seas and overcrowding\u201d, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the IOM said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Long persecuted in Myanmar, more than 730,000 Rohingya were forced to flee their homes in 2017 amid a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar\u2019s military, and sought safety in refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives every year to flee both repression and civil war in Myanmar and the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, often going to sea on makeshift boats to reach neighbouring countries and the possibility of a better life.<\/p>\n
The Bangladesh coastguard said one of its vessels, which was on the way to Indonesia, managed to rescue nine people from the capsized trawler, including one woman, on April 9, the AFP news agency reported.<\/p>\n
According to Turkiye\u2019s Andalou news agency, of the nine rescued, six were alleged to be involved in trafficking. They have been detained, according to police.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is a favoured destination of the Rohingya as it is a Muslim-majority nation and has a sizeable Rohingya diaspora.<\/p>\n
Last year, the UNHCR said that 427 Rohingya were feared dead at sea in two shipwrecks off the Myanmar coast in May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN: Hundreds missing after Rohingya refugee boat overturns in Andaman Sea ———————————- Some 250 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals are missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. Loaded with men, women and children, the trawler reportedly sank due to strong …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[10359],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-migration-news"],"yoast_head":"\n