After the discovery of several mass graves in the south of Thailand, several mass graves have now also been found in Malaysia, presumably containing the bodies of victims of human trafficking. Human traffickers smuggle migrants, mostly hunted Rohingya Muslims, from Burma to Thailand and Malaysia.
The mass graves are located near the border with Thailand, in the Klian Intan region.
Hundreds of bodies
Malaysian police have not yet announced how many bodies have been found. “That investigation is still ongoing,” said Malaysian Interior Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Various media from the region report that the bodies are hundreds of migrants from Burma and Bangladesh.
Remains of camps where migrants were held have also been found in the border area. According to Ahmad Zahid, camps have been used to gather victims of human trafficking for at least five years. Tomorrow the Malaysian police will give a press conference.
Thailand
The region is facing a major refugee problem. A mass grave was also found in Thailand this month. In it, 26 bodies of Rohingya Muslims from Burma were found. They are not recognized as a population group in their own country and are persecuted or chased away. In the first three months of this year, some 25.000 refugees were taken by people smugglers. That is double compared to the same period last year.
Thousands of them also try to flee by boat and want to go to countries such as Thailand or Malaysia. In many cases they are then left to fend for themselves at sea without food.
Source: NOS.nl – http://nos.nl/artikel/2037420-verschillende-massagraven-gevonden-in-maleisie.html