Rohingya who have been stranded near the waters of Thailand have been rescued by Myanmar Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (owned by the state of Myanmar) and a private partner, who dispatched two rescue boats in the evening on Wednesday, December 7. The junta has reported that boat had 48 women and 106 men on board. No reports have confirmed the amount of deaths yet. It is unclear where the Rohingya have been taken once they were rescued.
For the last two to three days, activists and media have reported that a boat with over 100 Rohingya refugees was stranded in the ocean near Thailand and India. The boat had become damaged and started to leak leaving the Rohingya stranded in the ocean.
Despite repeated pleas to authorities in Thailand to rescue the Rohingya, the Thai navy did not respond. Credible reports indicate that the Thai navy refused because the Rohingya were not in their territorial waters, but that of India. Reports have indicated that India has denied the boat entering Indian waters.
The UNHCR has reported an increase in Rohingya people taking significant risks because of the persecution taking place in Myanmar and the hardships refugees are facing in camps. To date, 119 Rohingya people have died fleeing on boats this year.
