In a major humanitarian operation, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued over 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar on board a fishing trawler in the Indian Ocean. The rescue came off the eastern port of Trincomalee, where the group, including 25 children, was brought safely ashore.
All of them are undergoing a medical check-up before boarding,” a navy spokesman was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse. The Rohingya is the Muslim majority ethnic group subjected to severe persecution in Myanmar that forces hundreds to take the dangerous sea voyages hoping to reach safety, usually heading to Malaysia or Indonesia.
The drifting trawler was found by local fishermen near Mullivaikkal Thursday morning. Language problems have prevented officials from ascertaining the destination of the refugees, though officials have suggested that “recent cyclonic weather” might have shifted their course.
While such incidents are rare, this is not the first time Rohingya have tried to make their way to Sri Lanka, which lies about 1,750 kilometers (1,100 miles) southwest of Myanmar. In October, close to 100 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia’s Aceh province, with six reportedly dying on that voyage.
The Sri Lankan navy also reported a similar rescue operation in December 2022, when more than 100 Rohingya were rescued from distress at sea. The ongoing crisis for the Rohingya escalated significantly in 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled to neighboring Bangladesh amid a military crackdown currently under investigation by the United Nations for potential genocide.
Things had worsened since the military coup of Myanmar in 2021, which plunged the country into a protracted civil war and forced millions to flee. The Rohingya also continued to suffer greatly, with forced conscription into the military despite them not being recognized as official citizens.
