JAKARTA, Indonesia: Officials from Indonesia's Aceh province said that more than 180 Rohingya Muslims landed this week by boat, in a bid to escape desperate conditions in Myanmar and in camps in Bangladesh.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, 2022 could be one of the deadliest years in almost a decade for the Rohingya, a religious and ethnic minority heavily persecuted in Myanmar.
Some 90 women and children were among this week's refugees, said Miftah Cut Ade, senior member of the local fishing community in Aceh.
From November to April, when there are calm seas, many Rohingya have attempted to reach neighboring Thailand and Bangladesh, as well as Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, often on unseaworthy boats.
However, many have died at sea due to disease, hunger and fatigue.
According to Indonesia's foreign ministry, since November 2022, 918 Rohingya have reached Aceh after traveling south in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, compared to 180 in 2021.
Nearly 1 million Rohingya live in crowded conditions in Bangladesh, after fleeing a deadly crackdown in 2017 by Myanmar's military.
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