Malaysia: Hundreds of Rohingya refugees escape detention centre, 6 dead

1 year ago
8

More than 500 Rohingya refugees escaped a temporary detention centre in the northern Penang state of Malaysia early on Wednesday.
Police say more than half of them have been found and rearrested.
Six detainees died when they were trying to cross a highway.
Malaysia, which has a dominant Muslim population, is a preferred destination for Muslim Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar or those seeking to escape misery in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention, but the country houses some 180,000 refugees and asylum seekers accredited with the UNHCR, including more than 100,000 Rohingya and other Myanmar ethnic groups.

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