Indonesian officials have said that more than 180 Rohingya refugees landed in the country’s western Aceh province, the latest among hundreds who have fled by boat from desperate conditions in Myanmar and in camps in Bangladesh.
Thousands of people from the mostly Muslim ethnic group that has been heavily persecuted in Myanmar risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, in an attempt to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia or Indonesia. The number of these perilous journeys – often in poor-quality boats – increases especially between November and April, when the seas are calm.
