BIREUEN, Indonesia—Indonesian fishermen rescued 76 Rohingya Muslims stranded off the coast of Aceh on Friday, authorities said, in the latest attempt by members of the persecuted ethnic group to flee Burma by sea. The group of eight children, 25 women and 43 men was brought ashore in their wooden boat Friday afternoon. Aceh’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said the Rohingya told local authorities that they wanted to reach Australia. Burma’s persecution of its Rohingya Muslim minority has sparked an exodus of some 700,000 refugees over land into neighbouring Bangladesh since August. Just days before, Malaysian authorities intercepted a vessel carrying 56 people believed to be Rohingya refugees and brought the vessel and its passengers to shore.

Source: thestar April 21, 2018 02:03 UTC