The foreign citizens entered Indonesia illegally without any documents.Medan, N Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Eleven Rohingyas from Myanmar are being held at the Medan Immigration Detention Center in Belawan, North Sumatra, for illegally entering Indonesia.
The head of the immigration detention center, Purbanus Purba, said here on Thursday that the foreigners were seized by immigration officers in Belawan, who then detained them at the center on Wednesday.
"The foreign citizens entered Indonesia illegally without any documents," he stated.
The arrest of these Rohingyas brought the total number of Myanmarese citizens being held at the center to 77, Purba added.
"After the 132 Somali detainees at the center, the number of Myanmarese ones is the largest," he affirmed.
Indonesia, especially Medan, sees a lot of illegal immigrants venturing into the country from many nations, even from ones as far as Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, among others.
The Rohingyas entered Indonesia through Tanjung Balai in Medan in a wooden boat from Malaysia.
"They were staying in Indonesia in transit, while waiting for other countries to receive them as asylum seekers," Purba explained.
Based on data from the Medan Immigration Detention Center, as many as 359 foreign citizens were held at the center in November. These included 26 Afghans, 11 Bangladeshis, 17 Palestinians, 77 Rohingyas, 132 Somalis, 42 Sri Lankans, 17 Iranians, 22 Sudanese, 2 Eritrean, one South African, nine Pakistanis, one Taiwanese and one Nepalese.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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