SRI LANKA’S navy rescued more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees who were found adrift aboard a fishing trawler off the island nation, a navy spokesman said today.

Navy spokesman Gayan Wickramasuriya said fishermen had spotted the refugees, including 25 children and 30 women, off Sri Lanka’s northern coast on Thursday. 

Naval vessels then escorted the trawler to a naval base on Sri Lanka’s east coast where they were given medical care, food and water.

Mr Wickramasuriya said the navy hasn’t yet confirmed whether the refugees are Rohingya because of communication difficulties. But the navy believes the group to be from Myanmar.

The rescue mirrored a similar incident in 2022 when the Sri Lankan navy picked up 100 Rohingya refugees who were also found adrift aboard a fishing boat inside Sri Lankan waters.

Hundreds of thousands of the predominantly Muslim Rohingya have fled Myanmar amid widespread discrimination. Most are denied citizenship.

About one million Rohingya live in Bangladesh as refugees. 

Thousands have been trying to flee Bangladesh’s overcrowded camps to neighbouring countries with Indonesia seeing a spike in refugee numbers since November which prompted it to call on the international community for help. 

Rohingya arriving in Aceh claim that they face hostility from some fellow Muslims.