Almost 300 Rohingya Muslims land on beach in Indonesia

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Almost 300 Rohingya Muslims have landed on a beach in Indonesia’s Aceh province, and were evacuated by military, police and Red Cross volunteers, authorities said.

The group arrived at Ujong Blang beach from one boat and were reported by local residents.

The 181 women, 100 men and 14 children were given shelter and received help from locals, police officers, military personnel and healthcare providers.

Local residents inspect the boat that carried hundreds of ethnic Rohingya people (Zik Maulana/AP)

In June, Indonesian fishermen discovered 94 Rohingya Muslims on a wooden boat adrift off Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost province.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar due to a military crackdown, and many live in densely crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Rights activists fear large numbers of Rohingya have gone to sea, fleeing ongoing persecution in Myanmar and hardship in the camps in Bangladesh where traffickers may promise the refugees a better life abroad.