DHAKA: A group of migrants recently rescued by Myanmar will be deported to Bangladesh, officials confirmed on Saturday, as the United Nations chief called on regional nations to prioritize saving the lives of those still stranded at sea.

Southeast Asia is currently battling an exodus of boat people fleeing persecution and poverty, with up to 2,000 vulnerable migrants thought to be stranded in the Bay of Bengal, many at the mercy of ruthless people smugglers.

Most are Muslim Rohingyas from the western Rakhine state in Myanmar, where they are not recognized as citizens and instead referred to as ‘Bengalis’ or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Bangladeshis, meanwhile, are also trying to escape grinding poverty.

More than 3,500 migrants have swum to shore or been rescued off the coasts of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh since a Thai crackdown in early May on human-trafficking threw the illicit trade into chaos, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1526 HRS, MAY 23, 2015
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