Sri Lanka rescues 102 Rohingya off eastern coast

ISTANBUL

Sri Lankan navy rescued a boat carrying 102 Rohingya community members off its eastern coast, a spokesman said on Friday.

Capt. Gayan Wickramasuriya said the boat from Myanmar was rescued in Sri Lankan waters on Thursday.

“There were 102 people comprising 25 children, 30 women including one expecting lady besides others in the boat,” Wickramasurya told Anadolu over phone from Colombo.

He said the navy provided food and medical items to the Rohingya community members, adding: "They are undergoing medical checkup and further action will be decided by the government through the Foreign Ministry."

Asked where the boat had sailed from, the spokesman said the naval forces “faced difficulties” in communicating with the Rohingya members due to the language barrier.”

The ministry will discuss the issue with embassy of Myanmar for further action, he said.

The mostly Muslim Rohingya, described as one of the most persecuted community in the world, have faced attacks by the Myanmar government, both civil and military, for decades.

Over a million of them were forced to leave their native lands in Myanmar, particularly Rakhine state, in 2017 and now live in neighboring Bangladesh.

Many often risk their lives each year on long sea journeys to countries such as Malaysia or Indonesia.