Over 100 Rohingya refugees rescued off Bangladesh coast

By Omer Faruk Yıldız

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AA) - More than 100 Rohingya refugees were rescued Friday before their wooden boat sank off the southern coast of Bangladesh.

According to a statement from the Bangladesh Coast Guard, the refugees were attempting to travel to Malaysia illegally.

The engine broke down while the boat was off St. Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal.

Some 119 refugees including 58 women and 14 children were in danger of drowning.

The coast guard intercepted the boat before it sank and rescued them.

Coast Guard staff officers announced that the refugees were detained

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

*Wiring by Fahri Aksut