Al Jazeera reports that hundreds of Rohingya, missing from a refugee camp in Indonesia, are believed to have been trafficked to neighboring Malaysia. Officials and other sources say that just 112 out of 400 refugees remain at the makeshift camp in Lhokseumawe.

From Myanmar, where they have been denied citizenship, the refugees are suspected to have solicited the help of traffickers to cross the Malacca strait into Malaysia. Ridwan Jalil, head of the Rohingya task force in Lhokseumawe, said “We don’t know yet where they went.” He added, “But they’ll escape if they can find any hole to leave because that is their goal.”

In a genocidal crackdown by the Myanmar military in 2017, 750 000 Rohingya fled across the border into Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camp.

Al Jazeerah reports that thousands have since paid smugglers to get them out of Bangladesh, to reach Indonesia and Malaysia, putting themselves at risk of illness, assault at the hands of traffickers and starvation rations, during traumatic months – long journeys.

UNHCR spokeswoman Mitra Suryono, said “But [they] left despite our constant efforts to remind them about the danger and risks they could face by leaving, including if they used the services of smugglers. She added, “But we have to remember that many of [them] have relatives in other countries such as Malaysia. That may be one of the reasons why they continued their journey.”

The Indonesian government, reportedly significantly reduced security at the settlement once the Rohingya were placed under the supervision of the UNHCR last month. Indonesia, meanwhile, is not a signatory to an international convention on refugees.

Umm Muhammed Umar