34 Rohingya Muslims turn up in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — More than 30 Muslim Rohingya women and children were found stranded along a beach in Malaysia’s northernmost state early Friday, and are believed to have been dropped off by human traffickers, authorities said.

A police official in Kangar, the capital of northern Perlis state, said villagers found the 34 people, including nine children, weak, hungry and covered in mud as they made their way through the muddy coast.

The official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the group was believed to have arrived from Thailand. He said they have been fed and handed over to immigration officials.

Nur Aziah Mohamad Shariff, an official with the National Security Council, said it is aware of the illegal entry and is investigating.

A Burmese welfare group said the group is believed to have been trafficked into Thailand from Bangladesh, before heading to Malaysia, whose dominant Malay Muslim population makes it a sympathetic destination.

Zafar Ahmad Ghani, who heads the Burma Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization of Malaysia, said he obtained information that many more Rohingya are being tricked by traffickers into leaving Bangladesh after being warned they may face death if repatriated to Burma.

More than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled from Burma to Bangladesh since August 2017, when militants attacked security forces, triggering retaliation by Burma’s army.