BANGKOK – Thailand arrested 70 illegal immigrants including 30 children suspected to be Rohingya from Myanmar on an island in the country’s south, Thai official said on Saturday, in the latest wave of arrivals to Southeast Asia.
In Myanmar, the Rohingya Muslim are regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia and are denied citizenship and subject to abuse.
“From initial questioning them, they said they are Muslims from Myanmar heading to Malaysia or Indonesia,” Somkane Phothisri, commander of Phang Nga provincial police, told Reuters.
For years many Rohingya have attempted to reach neighbouring countries like Thailand and Bangladesh in rickety wooden boats, and to Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, especially from October to April, when the seas are calmer.
“We cannot determine if they are Rohingya or Myanmar who have illegally entered the country yet,” Phang Nga Governor Supoj Rodrung na Nongkhai told Reuters, adding that authorities were still investigating.
Last month, boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya landed in Indonesia.
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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