Rohingya Boat Sinks

Nearly 160 Rohingya refugees who have fled from camps in Bangladesh are now believed adrift in the Andaman Sea as their boat's engine broke down. One of the refugees managed to contact the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (RHRI) and give the coordinates which showed the ship drifting southeast of the Andaman Islands towards Aceh in Indonesia. Since the contact was made on Wednesday, we have no news of where they have drifted We have appealed to all agencies working with such sea-borne refugees to try and help these people, RHRI Director Sabber Kyaw Min told PTI over the phone. However, RHRI's statement could not be independently verified by either the Indian Coast Guard or Unified Andamans & Nicobar Command. The Command's spokesperson said through WhatsApp: We have no information. From the location given by RHRI, it appears that the Rohingya boat is outside Indian waters. The refugees are mostly women and children, who number 120, and 40 adult men, said Min on Friday. The Rohing

At least five people were killed and dozens left missing after a boat packed with Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine state for Bangladesh sank in a river that separates the two nations, a border guard official said. "The boat was carrying around 50 people when it sank on the estuary of the Naf river in the morning. Five bodies were found including four children, and 21 people survived," Border Guard Bangladesh area commander Lieutenant Colonel S.M. Ariful Islam told AFP.

At least eight people drowned and dozens more are missing after a boat packed with Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh sank today, the latest victims of a half a million strong exodus sparked by an army crackdown in Myanmar. The boat was carrying an estimated 50 people when it went down in the estuary of the Naf river that divides the two countries, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) area commander Lieutenant Colonel S M Ariful Islam told AFP. Nearly 200 Rohingya have drowned over the last six weeks making the perilous crossing into Bangladesh, many in small wooden fishing boats that are dangerously overloaded. They are fleeing violence in Myanmar's sectarian-plagued Rakhine state where the United Nations has accused troops of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Islam said the bodies of the eight confirmed victims had washed up on the river banks, while 21 survivors had swum to safety. "Eight people were killed. The majority were children,