Indonesian fishermen rescue 116 Rohingya refugees

Associated Press

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian fishermen have rescued 116 Rohingya refugees, mostly hungry and weak women and children, after their rickety boat sank. Police say the group had sailed from the Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh hoping to reach to Indonesia or Malaysia in search of a better life, when it became stranded on an island in Indonesia’s northern province of Aceh. About 1 million predominantly Muslim Rohingya live in Bangladesh as refugees from Myanmar. Indonesia has appealed to the international community for help following as a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since last year.