Rejected Rohingya boat sighted off Indonesia coast

By AFP
November 19, 2023
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. —AFP File
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. —AFP File

JAKARTA: A boat carrying Rohingya refugees that was forced back to sea earlier this week was sighted Saturday several miles off the coast of Indonesia’s westernmost region, according to a local commander.

The group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province on Thursday, but residents told them not to land. The boat travelled to another location in Aceh where a second group of residents again turned them back to sea late Thursday.

A naval commander in Aceh’s Lhoksemauwe city told AFP on Saturday that the boat was spotted “this morning” and “looks similar” to the one turned back on Thursday, adding that it was heading east.