Over 700 migrants were taken into custody, including young children and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, during Friday's raid in a downtown area where thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers live, rights groups had said. The operation was aimed at preventing undocumented migrants from travelling to other areas amid movement curbs imposed to contain the spread of the outbreak, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador told state news agency Bernama. "We cannot allow them to move freely... as it will be difficult for us to track them down if they leave identified locations," Abdul Hamid was quoted as saying. Those detained would be placed at a single location for monitoring until the movement curbs were lifted, he said according to Bernama. Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, regarding them as illegal migrants.

Source: bd News24 May 02, 2020 02:37 UTC