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Friday, November 16, 2018, 14:53
Myanmar holds 106 suspected Rohingya Muslims aboard boat
By Reuters
Friday, November 16, 2018, 14:53 By Reuters

In this June 18, 2012, photo, boats carrying Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh are intercepted by Bangladeshi Coast Guard officials in Teknaf. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

YANGON — Myanmar immigration authorities detained more than 100 suspected Rohingya Muslims aboard a boat off Yangon on Friday, officials said, raising fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 crackdown on people smugglers.

Aye Mya Mya Myo, a lower house lawmaker for Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy party from Kyauktan said there were 50 men, 31 women and 25 children on the boat

The boat carrying 106 people was stopped in the early morning some 30 km south of Myanmar's largest city and police were on the way to investigate, Kyaw Htay, an immigration officer from Kyauktan township, told Reuters by phone. 

"It's possible that they are from Rakhine. Like in previous years, it is possible they are Bengali from Rakhine," Kyaw Htay said. 

Many people in Buddhist-majority Myanmar refer to the Rohingya as "Bengali", implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Myanmar does not consider the Rohingya a native ethnic group. 

ALSO READ: UN sees 'breakthrough' in getting aid to Rohingyas in Myanmar

Officials and aid workers told Reuters last week that dozens of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh had boarded boats to try to reach Malaysia in recent weeks after the end of the monsoon rains in early October. 

Observers warn that because the smuggling routes to Thailand have been disrupted and the journey is treacherous and expensive, more and more Rohingya are opting for a cheaper and shorter trip along the Bay of Bengal coast south to Yangon. 

Aye Mya Mya Myo, a lower house lawmaker for Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy party from Kyauktan, posted pictures of a rickety boat crammed with women wearing headscarves, men and children on Facebook. On some images police officials kept watch over squatting people from the boat. 

She said there were 50 men, 31 women and 25 children on the boat.

READ MORE: Rohingya refugees celebrate holiday amid memories of home

For years, Rohingya on both sides of the border have boarded boats organised by smugglers in the dry months between November and March, when the sea is calm. The perilous journey to Thailand and Malaysia, often undertaken in overcrowded vessels, has cost many lives. 

Thailand cracked down on the trade after discovering a series of mass graves in 2015, leading to a crisis when smugglers abandoned their human cargo and left boats adrift in the Andaman Sea.

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