Indonesia’s navy pushes a boat suspected of carrying Rohingya refugees out of its waters

By NINIEK KARMINI and EDNA TARIGAN
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s navy says it forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after the vessel approached the shores of Aceh province. The province that forms part of Sumatra island has seen an increasing number of arriving boats, most carrying Rohingya refugees from southern Bangladesh. Large numbers of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017 following military attacks on members of the persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar. The Indonesian navy says pne of its ships located a boat thought to be carrying refugees on Wednesday about 63 nautical miles (72 miles) off Indonesia’s coast and drove it out. Over 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh since November and faced some hostility from fellow Muslims.