Rohingyas Boat Sinks, 100 Muslims Missing

Local Editor

Around 100 people, including Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar, have gone missing in a boat incident, Bangladeshi officials say.
The commander of Bangladesh Border Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Zahid Hassan, said the boat was heading toward Malaysia when it sank about 15 kilometers (nine miles) off the southern coast of Bangladesh early on Wednesday.
Some 110 passengers were aboard the vessel.
"We have rescued 11 survivors with the help of local fishermen," Hassan said, confirming that at least two of those rescued were Rohingyas.
The Bangladeshi official added that "a search and rescue operation is underway" for those unaccounted for.

In October, a boat carrying more than 130 passengers, mostly Rohingyas, sank in the Bay of Bengal.

Myanmar's government refuses to recognize Rohingya Muslims as citizens and labels the minority of about 800,000 as "illegal" immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, which has shown no willingness to help the Rohingyas.
More than 100,000 Rohingyas have been displaced since the sectarian violence broke out in June, according to the UN.

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.
"The situation is dire. The UN is doing its best, but it is trying to find more funding to help them," said Chris Lewa, the director of the Arakan Project, an NGO working with Rohingyas.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org