BANGKOK (AFP) – In recent days nearly 2,000 boat people from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been rescued or swum to shore in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The wave of arrivals is believed to be caused by smugglers dumping their human cargo as Thailand moves to stem the trade after discovering dozens of migrant remains in secret jungle camps earlier this month.
The UN refugee agency believes an estimated 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis have taken to boats in the first three months of this year — double the number over the same period in 2014.
The following is a regional summary of the current “boat people” crisis:
– Malaysia –
Malaysian police say people-smugglers have dumped at least 1,018 migrants in shallow waters off the…
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