Sri Lanka’s coastguard Sunday detained an Indian boat which had illegally entered the island’s territorial waters and rescued 30 Rohingya refugees including 16 children who were on board, an official said. The dhow operated by two Indians had entered Sri Lanka’s northern waters after crossing the sea border, said navy spokesman Chaminda Walakuluge. “There was a 15-day-old baby and a four-month-old child on board,” Walakuluge said. Investigators suspect that the crew were trying to bring the Rohingya to Sri Lanka. Four years ago Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 138 refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar whose boat had been drifting off Sri Lanka for over 10 days.

Source: Dhaka Tribune April 30, 2017 13:52 UTC