TEKNAF, Bangladesh (AFP): Bangladesh coast guards on Thursday (May 30) stopped 58 Rohingya refugees from making a potentially dangerous journey to Malaysia by sea and arrested two suspected traffickers, an official said. About 740,000 minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown in the Buddhist-majority nation began in August 2017. Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. So far this year, law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh have rescued over 400 Rohingya refugees from coastal villages as they were waiting to board boats bound for Malaysia. But this is the first time in 2019 that Rohingya refugees were rescued at sea, raising concerns that the situation in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps - home to nearly one million - is worsening.

Source: The Star May 31, 2019 13:41 UTC