BANDA ACEH: The fresh flow of Rohingya refugees into the Indonesian territory continued as 50 new refugees arrived at Seuneubok Baroh Village in Darul Aman Sub-district, East Aceh District, Aceh Province, on Thursday.
East Aceh Police Chief Adjunct Sen Coms Andy Rahmansyah stated that a vessel reportedly carried them to Kuala Idi Cut Beach. Shortly after the refugees disembarked, the ship returned to sea.
These Rohingya refugees hid in the bushes shortly before being found by locals at around 3.45 am local time. Seven of them attempted to escape, but they were arrested and reunited with 43 others, he remarked.
“All of them are males. They are currently secured at the Idi Cut fish landing facility (TPI),” he remarked, adding that he had yet to know the steps to be taken by the Aceh Provincial Government regarding the handling of the refugees.
This matter would firstly be coordinated with the representatives of UNHCR and International Organisation for Migration (IOM), he stated.
Antara reported earlier that the flows of Rohingya refugees into Aceh have repeatedly occurred since November 2023.
Prior to their arrivals in East Aceh, several hundred Rohingya refugees had landed in Sabang City and the districts of Aceh Besar and Pidie.
The Aceh administration’s efforts to shelter the refugees, who had arrived earlier, were met with resistance from the locals.
Regarding the current wave of Rohingya refugee arrivals, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had stated earlier that the government was temporarily accommodating those who have entered the Indonesian territory.
