UNHCR calls for Indonesia to let in Rohingya stranded at sea off Aceh

JAKARTA: The United Nations' refugee agency called on Indonesia to let in about 150 Rohingya refugees stranded off Aceh province for almost a week, as local media reported police had arrested three people on charges of human trafficking.

Two people on the boat had died and another 11, including a pregnant woman, had been evacuated to the local hospital, Muhammad Jabal, the head of fishing community at Labuhan Haji port in South Aceh, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Fishermen found the boat last Thursday, and the children on board had asked for food and water after weeks at sea, he said.

"We brought them bread and water, their condition was so worrying," Jabal said.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) called on the government to allow the Rohingya, a minority group who have faced persecution in Myanmar, to land safely, spokesperson Mitra Salima Suryono told Reuters.

"We continue to communicate with the authorities. Our priority is the safety of the Rohingya on board," she said.

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.

Most refugee arrivals happen between November and April, when the seas in the region are generally calmer and members of the Muslim minority try to leave Myanmar.

Detik.com, an Indonesian media site, reported regional police spokesperson Joko Krisdiyanto said the boat had left Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and travelled to the Andaman Islands in the second week of October before heading to Aceh.

Police suspected human trafficking as the Rohingya were asked to pay before being transported to Indonesia, he said, and Aceh police had arrested three Indonesians.