Over 110 Rohingya arrested in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar: More than 110 Rohingya from war-torn western Myanmar were arrested as they tried to flee the country to Malaysia, a local security source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.

The mainly Muslim Rohingya, seen in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh, are denied citizenship and require permission to travel.

Fifty-nine men and 58 women were arrested from two trucks in Thanbyuzayat township in eastern Mon state on Tuesday, said the local security source, who declined to be named as he was not permitted to talk to the media.

The group was headed for Malaysia via Thailand, the source added.

Initial reports said the group traveled first by boat from Sittwe and Maungdaw in Rakhine state and were later picked up by traffickers in Thanbyuzayat for the onward journey to Thailand before being abandoned.

In recent weeks, fighting between the junta and ethnic armed group the Arakan Army has rocked swathes of Rakhine, displacing tens of thousands.

The military has since closed highways and banned water travel in the state.

In 2017, the military launched a crackdown on Rohingya in Rakhine, sending hundreds of thousands of the persecuted minority fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh.

The crackdown is now the subject of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, while the Rohingya who remain in Myanmar are subject to what rights groups describe as apartheid-like conditions.

Every year, thousands of Rohingya undertake risky sea journeys from Myanmar and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

About 569 Rohingya were reported to have died or gone missing at sea last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday, the highest number since 2014.

Nearly 4,500 embarked on sea journeys from Myanmar or camps in Bangladesh in 2023, the agency added.