JAKARTA: About 146 Rohingya, including children, came ashore in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province on Thursday, an official said, the second wave of arrivals to the Southeast Asian country within a week.
A boat carrying 64 men, 62 women and 20 children landed early on Thursday morning, in the Deli Serdang area of North Sumatra, Raphael Sandhy Cahya Priambodo, the head of regional police, told Reuters.
“The Rohingya were swimming from the boat to reach the shore,” Raphael said, adding they were temporarily placed in a local administration office.
“All of them survived and are now in a good condition.”
Their arrival came after another boat also carrying about 150 Rohingya, a minority group who have faced persecution in Myanmar, had been stranded in Indonesia’s Aceh province for a week after local residents refused to let it come ashore.
The boat, which arrived in Indonesian waters on Oct. 17, was finally allowed to land on Thursday, the head of fishing community in South Aceh Muhammad Jabal told Reuters, after an appeal from the UN refugee agency to the Indonesian government.
From October to April, when the seas are calmer, many Rohingya Muslims leave Myanmar on rickety boats for Thailand, Muslim-majority Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
More than 2,300 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia last year, UNHCR data showed, more than the combined total of arrivals in the previous four years.
They have faced increasing rejection in Indonesia as locals grow frustrated at the number of arrivals.
Boats carrying Rohingya land in Indonesia’s North Sumatra and Aceh
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Boats carrying Rohingya land in Indonesia’s North Sumatra and Aceh
- A boat carrying 64 men, 62 women and 20 children landed early on Thursday morning, in the Deli Serdang area of North Sumatra, Raphael Sandhy Cahya Priambodo, the head of regional police, told Reuters
Central African Republic president seeks third term in election
- Since Touadera was first elected in 2016, in the middle of a civil war, the CAR has seen unrest ease despite feuds between armed groups and the government in some regions
BANGUI: Voters in the Central African Republic cast their ballots for a new president on Sunday, with incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera widely expected to win a third term after touting his success in steadying a nation long plagued by conflict.
Around 2.3 million people are eligible to vote, with parliamentary, municipal and regional polls taking place at the same time.
Escorted by members of the presidential guard, Touadera arrived at a high school to cast his own ballot.
He urged people to vote “to allow our country to develop, to allow our country to regain peace and security.”
“It’s a very important issue,” Touadera, 68, told reporters.
Streets in the capital Bangui were quiet, with armored vehicles of the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA deployed at road junctions.
Heavy security was posted outside voting stations, and helicopters flew overhead at a school near where Touadera was voting, while a long queue had formed. Since Touadera was first elected in 2016, in the middle of a civil war, the CAR has seen unrest ease despite feuds between armed groups and the government in some regions.
“We need a leader elected by the people, not someone who takes power by force,” teacher Julie Odjoubi, 44, said, her left thumb stained with purple ink to show she had voted.
Touadera is in pole position to win in a seven-strong field, after a new constitution was adopted in 2023.
