Seventy Rohingya people hiding in a truck transporting ginger were arrested north of Yangon after the vehicle crashed into a roadside canal, the junta said yesterday.
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state are widely regarded as illegal immigrants in the Buddhist-majority country and have long faced discrimination, restrictions on travel and been denied citizenship, healthcare and education.
The arrests took place a week ago, the Burmese junta said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
The group of mostly men were hiding under ginger bags in the truck when it crashed into the canal, the statement said.
A Bangladeshi citizen was also arrested, and authorities were searching for two Myanmar nationals who were driving the truck and riding in the cabin.
Rohingya people convicted of violating immigration laws can face two years in prison in Myanmar.
Amnesty International likens their living conditions in Rakhine state to “apartheid.”
A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 forced about 750,000 Rohingya to flee Rakhine state for Bangladesh following widespread accounts of murder, arson and rape.
Myanmar is facing genocide accusations at the UN’s top court following a mass exodus.
The Southeast Asian nation has been in chaos since Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was toppled in a military coup in February last year, ending its brief period of democracy.
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