On Wednesday, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to provide "temporary shelter" for thousands of Muslim migrants trapped at sea, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said at a meeting with counterparts from Indonesia and Thailand, "provided that the resettlement and repatriation process will be done in one year by the international community."
The announcement could ease a humanitarian crisis that has been going on for weeks, with ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and migrants from Bangladesh stranded without food or water in broken-down ships abandoned by the captain. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand have refused landing to many of the migrants, though some 3,000 have been allowed in in recent weeks. Aman said the three countries would "provide humanitarian assistance" to 7,000 migrants at sea, though the United Nations could only count about 4,000. Buddhist militants have been attacking the Rohingyas in Myanmar, and human traffickers have been shifting to the sea as neighboring countries crack down on land migration routes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
