Human traffickers left dozens of Rohingya refugees, including children, stranded on a shoreline in westernmost Indonesia on Thursday, while six dead bodies were found nearby, local officials said. Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia. The refugees were abandoned before dawn on Thursday around 100 metres off a beach in Aceh Province, Saiful Anwar, a village official in East Aceh, told AFP.
The group included 46 women, 37 men and seven children, he said, while locals found two bodies on the shore and four floating in the sea. "According to information from residents, these people were stranded at around 4 am (2100 GMT). It seems like there was a boat that brought them," Saiful said.
Eight sick refugees were taken for medical treatment, he said. East Aceh acting district head Amrullah M. Ridha told reporters the refugees would be kept in tents on the beach until authorities sheltered them.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it knew about the arrivals but could offer no further information. Sign up to get our free daily email of the biggest stories! Acting Aceh Governor Safrizal, who goes by one name, told reporters "human trafficking mafia activity" was to blame for the latest arrivals. It is the third group of arrivals in western Indonesia this month, with more than 150 refugees landing in Aceh and another 140 arriving in North Sumatra pr.