MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2023) The last group of undocumented Rohingya migrants who fled Myanmar's Rakhine state on wooden ships with over 180 people on board came ashore Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh on Monday, Indonesian news agency Antara reported, citing authorities.
A local police spokesman confirmed that 184 Rohingya migrants, including 90 women and children, arrived in Aceh at around 3:30 a.m. local time (20:30 GMT on Sunday) all in good health, the report said.
Since last November, the Indonesian authorities have recorded 918 arrivals of Rohingya migrants who crossed the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Meanwhile, throughout 2021, Indonesia registered only 180 arrivals.
The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group that mainly resides in Myanmar's Rakhine, do not have Myanmar citizenship in the predominantly Buddhist part of the country because they are considered illegal migrants from Bangladesh, despite the fact that several generations of Rohingya have lived in Myanmar.
The exodus of Rohingya to Myanmar's neighboring countries began in 2017 after a massive operation by the Myanmar armed forces in Rakhine against Rohingya rebels who attacked several police posts and army bases. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar military and anti-Muslim extremists to neighboring Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
