716 Bangladeshi Refugees in Malaysian camps

Dhaka, June 2 (IANS) A total of 716 Bangladeshi refugees said to have arrived on the shores of Malaysia by boat are lodged in Malaysian camps, an official said.

The Bangladeshi foreign ministry has sent a list of its nationals to the Malaysian authorities for final identification, the official told bdnews24.

The Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur prepared the list after getting consular access and preliminary verification.

There has been a surge in the number of refugees from Myanmar arriving in Malaysia and Indonesia following a crackdown on trafficking by Thailand, usually the first destination in the region’s people-smuggling network.