Sri Lankan forces rescue more than 100 Rohingya refugees stranded off Indian Ocean

Officials said on December 19 that the Sri Lankan navy rescued 104 Rohingya refugees aboard a small trawler adrift off the northern coast of the Indian Ocean island nation.

The boat was discovered by the Sri Lankan Navy when it was about 3.5 nautical miles (6.4 kilometres) from shore, and it was towed to a northern harbour after a search and rescue operation, according to navy spokesperson Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya.

Tens of thousands of Rohingyas are living in deplorable conditions in Bangladeshi refugee camps after fleeing widespread violence at the hands of Myanmar's military in 2017.
According to a navy statement, 104 Myanmar nationals were discovered aboard a small trawler suspected of being from Myanmar.

According to the statement, the boat was on its way to Indonesia when it experienced engine trouble in the rough sea.

In late November, three boats carrying Rohingya refugees were reported to have set sail from Bangladesh.
As per a statement, released on 16 December by Myanmar's exiled National Unity Government, one vessel carrying Rohingya refugees had been "intercepted by a Vietnamese off-shore company" and handed over to Myanmar Navy; another vessel experienced "engine failure"; and the whereabouts of the third vessel were "unknown".

While the second boat is reported to be in Indian waters, the Sri Lankan Navy rescued and brought to shore a vessel carrying over 100 refugees on Sunday.
It is not known yet whether the vessel rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy is one of the three that left Bangladesh in November.
 

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