Malaysia to charge Thais over mass graves

A Malaysian Muslim man stands near a pit during the re-burial of remains believed to be those of ethnic Rohingya found at human-trafficking camps in the country’s north, at Kampung Tualang, on June 22, 2015. (AFP File Photo)

KUALA LUMPUR: Four Thai nationals will face charges in a Malaysian court on Friday over the 2015 discovery of mass graves and suspected human trafficking camps at the border with Thailand, Malaysia’s home affairs minister said.

The dense forests of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia have been a major stopping-off point for smugglers bringing people to Southeast Asia by boat — most of them Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh.