Trafficked Rohingyas: Myanmar police arrest nearly 100 in raid
Afp, Yangon
Afp, Yangon
Nearly 100 Rohingyas smuggled from Myanmar's conflict-scarred Rakhine state were arrested in a raid in Yangon, police announced yesterday, with authorities saying they had been headed to Malaysia as part of a trafficking network.
The plight of the Rohingyas captured international headlines in 2017 after a military crackdown in western Rakhine state sent almost 750,000 fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.
Members of the stateless minority group have long faced discrimination in Myanmar, where they are denied freedom of movement and citizenship, and lack access to work, healthcare and schools.
With the remaining languishing in camps that rights groups have described as "apartheid-like", many choose to embark on treacherous routes with human smugglers to reach Malaysia and Indonesia.