1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Indonesia: Dozens of Rohingya refugees arrive on shore

December 25, 2022

The 58 Rohingya refugees arrived onshore hungry and weak after one month adrift. The UN said that up to 20 people had died during the journey, making it "one of the deadliest years in the seas in the region."

https://p.dw.com/p/4LPop
Indonesian police officers watch a group of ethnic Rohingya people after they landed on Indra Patra beach in Ladong village, Aceh province, Indonesia
The Rohingya refugees arrived on Indra Patra beach before being monitored on shore by police officersImage: Rahmat Mirza/AP/picture alliance

Dozens of Rohingya refugees arrived on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province early on Sunday morning, officials said.

The group of 58 men reached land on Indrapatra beach in Ladong, a fishing village, local police chief Rolly Yuiza Away said.

Villagers who saw the group of Rohingya on a rickety wooden boat assisted them in coming to shore before informing the authorities of their arrival, the police official added.

The boat used to carry ethnic Rohingya rests on Indra Patra beach in Ladong village, Aceh province, Indonesia
The boat was in poor conditionImage: Rahmat Mirza/AP/picture alliance

The Rohingya coming ashore in Indonesia came after demands from humanitarian organizations, pleading for them to be allowed to disembark after being adrift at sea for a month. 

On Friday, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) called on regional governments to rescue at least 190 Rohingya people set adrift between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. 

According to the UNHCR, the refugees were stuck aboard an unseaworthy vessel with very little food and water. Up to 20 people had died during the journey, the UN humanitarian body added.

"It is devastating to learn that many people have already lost their lives, including children. Sadly, this makes it one of the deadliest years in the seas in the region," Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR's Director for Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement. 

Members of the Rohingya minority have been fleeing persecution in their home state of Rakhine in Myanmar and desperate conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

jsi/ar (AP, dpa)