After weeks at sea, over 250 Rohingya land in Bangladesh

More than 250 Rohingya Muslim refugees who had been floating for weeks on a fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal arrived Friday on an island in southern Bangladesh, officials said. The refugees were brought to Bhasan Char island after they reached elsewhere on Bangladesh's coast, said Mohammed Alamgir Hossain, police superintendent in Noakhali district where the island is located. He did not say who brought them there. Louise Donovan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, told The Associated Press that they received reports that approximately 280 Rohingya were being brought to the island by Bangladesh's Navy.

“We are seeking further information from the Bangladesh authorities,” she said. Another group of 29 Rohingya refugees reached the island on Sunday after weeks of floating at sea and failing to reach Malaysia.

Rights groups said recently that hundreds of Rohingya are stranded on at least two fishing trawlers between Bangladesh and Malaysia. The refugees reportedly attempted to reach Malaysia, but failed because of strict patrols to keep out the coronavirus. Currently more than 1 million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh in crowded camps in Cox's Bazar district. Most of those Rohingya their homes in neighbouring Myanmar after the military launched a counterinsurgency campaign in response to an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group. Security forces were accused of committing mass rapes, killings and burning thousands of homes.