Over 100 Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers found after drifting at sea

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The wooden boat was discovered by fishermen about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north off the coast Aceh Province on Wednesday.A doctor at a hospital in the city of Lhokseumawe said the 121 passengers, including six women and two children under the age of five, are weak from hunger and dehydration.The passengers said that the boat had experienced engine trouble but there are no reports regarding the group’s destination.Recently, another boat was found off Sri Lanka’s coast, with 33 dehydrated Rohingya refugees and additional 97 dead. The surviving passengers said Thai military took the boat’s engine and left them to float at sea for 25 days without water and food before being rescued. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugee voiced concern over the increasing number of Rohingya deaths at sea. The international body also urged Myanmar government to “promote reconciliation and economic development in Rakhine state, pursue practical measures to ensure basic rights so that the Rohingya can lead normal lives where they are, and grant them access to citizenship.”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.Rohingya Muslims have faced torture, neglect, and repression in Myanmar for many years. /129