Over 100 suspected Rohingya Muslims arrested aboard boat in Yangon, official says

More than 100 suspected Rohingya Muslims were arrested aboard a boat in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, officials said, raising fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 crackdown on people smugglers.

The boat carrying 106 people was stopped some 30 km (20 miles) south of the Yangon port in Kyauktan township and senior police officials were on the way to investigate them, Kyaw Htay, an immigration officer from the township, told Reuters by phone.

“It’s possible that they are from Rakhine. Like in previous years, it is possible they are Bengali from Rakhine,” Kyaw Htay said. Many people in Myanmar refer to the Rohingya as “Bengali”, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.