More Rohingyas rescued from Thai border jungle
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Bangkok: More Rohingya migrants were rescued on Monday while lost in the woods in a Thai-Malaysian border area, police said.
A group of 26 Rohingyas, including nine children, were found jungle-trekking in the southern Thai province of Songkla since the last two weeks after they had been deserted by suspected human traffickers, the police said.
The migrants, who looked exhausted and starving, were given food and temporary lodging at a local mosque.
The Muslim Rohingyas had fled sectarian strifes in Myanmar's Rakhine state, sailed on the Andaman Sea and disembarked on the shores of Thailand's southern province of Satun, which neighbours Songkla.
They had been reportedly destined for Malaysia but victimised by human traffickers who had extorted money from them, the police said.
Earlier this month, 80 Rohingyas and 15 Bangladeshis were rescued from the woods while the remains of 33 deceased migrants were found at a makeshift graveyard in the jungles barely half a kilometre from Malaysian territory in Perlis state.
They had reportedly fallen prey to suspected human traffickers, including several Thai politicians, a few policemen and others.
Arrest warrants have been issued for dozens of human trafficking suspects while a number of policemen have been transferred out of the border area for alleged failure to fight the illegal migrants.
