Rohingya: ship carrying 297 Rohingya refugees ‘landed’ off the coast of Lhokseumawe, Aceh

A boat carrying up to 297 Rohingya refugees landed on Ujung Blang beach, Banda Sakti district, Lhokseumawe, Aceh province, around 12:30 AM WIB on Monday morning (09/07), local authorities said.

Information collected by UNHCR staff in Lhokseumawe indicated that the Rohingya refugees were “seven months at sea”.

“Since his statement, 7 months have been spent at sea,” UNHCR staff in Lhokseumawe, Oktina, told reporters on Monday (09/07).

As of Monday afternoon, a total of 297 Rohingya refugees had been temporarily placed in the Vocational Training Center (BLK) building in Lhokseumawe, local officials said.

Earlier, an official report from local security authorities said the ship “landed on the shore” and that the people on board “dispersed and fled the ship.”

The arrival of Rohingya refugees is the second wave in Aceh in the past two months. Last June, 94 Rohingya refugees were stranded in the waters of northern Aceh.

Before disembarking, several fishermen allegedly saw the boat in the waters near the coast.

“The fisherman tried to chase the boat, because it looked foreign,” local security authorities told Acehian journalist Hidayatullah to BBC News Indonesia.

“However, the ship continued to sail at high speed towards the coast of Lhokseumawe.”

Local residents were reportedly aware of the arrival of Rohingya residents on the beach.

“Some of the Rohingya went directly into the village,” the report says.

The local population is said to be trying to secure and arrest the Rohingya immigrants and to report the incident to the local police and Koramil.

“Until 0230 WIB, the police, Babinsa and the community continued to try to reunite Rohinggya immigrants,” said a written statement received by BBC Indonesia on Monday (09/07) morning.

Meanwhile, the Kapolsek Banda Sakti, Iptu Irwansyah, said his group had placed the Rohingya refugees in a location not far from the landing site.

“We previously received information from the public that there were Rohingya people who had gone ashore and wandered, so together with the residents we secured them in one place,” Iptu Irwansyah told reporters in Lhokseumawe.

“Everyone who has entered the village has been arrested and we are awaiting further instructions,” Irwansyah added.

They then temporarily met on the edge of Ujung Blang beach, that is, in a cafe building.

“The current number is 297,” said a statement received by BBC Indonesia.

Around 09.00 WIB, as reported by journalists in Aceh, Hidayatullah, they were then transferred to another location that was said to have facilities such as toilets.

A 13-year-old Rohingya refugee was reportedly ill and had been rushed to the nearest hospital in Lhokseumawe.

Of the 297 people, 181 were women, 102 men, while there were 14 children.

The Lhokseumae city government said 297 refugees from Rohignya had been transferred to the office of the Center for Vocational Training (BLK) in the city.

They were transported in trucks belonging to TNI.

Lhokseumawe’s head of public relations, Marzuki, said they had been temporarily transferred to the BLK and “placed in tents and hallways” for humanitarian reasons.

“In the future, UNHCR and IOM will collect data,” said Marzuki.

However, Marzuki stressed that the 297 Rohingya refugees “will not be combined” with the Rohingya refugees who arrived in Aceh last June.

“You cannot join, you cannot meet, you cannot communicate, because we are concerned that there is a relationship between them family (family), up to normal conditions, “said Marzuki.

Marzuki added that the 297 Rohingya refugees will take a quick test. “The Lhokseumawe city government has prepared the equipment,” he said.