Mass Graves Discovered in Malaysia, Likely of Migrants
VoA - News Sunday 24th May, 2015
mass graves discovered in malaysia, likely of migrants
Malaysian authorities say police have found numerous mass graves containing the remains of people believed to be migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Home Minister Zahid Hamidi told reporters on Sunday that the graves had been found along the border with Thailand near villages that had been used by people traffickers.
"The IGP [Inspector General of Police] and his deputy is currently at the Malaysian-Thailand borders for confirmation and identification of the bodies in the mass grave. The mass graves area has been identified by VAT 69 [special police force] and PGA [general police force] as being used for human trafficking activities of refugees," he said.
Local media reported that about 30 graves containing hundreds of skeletons had been found in and near detention camps used by human traffickers of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants.
Officials had previously denied that any such mass graves or slave camps existed on Malaysian soil.
The national police chief is expected to hold a news conference on the matter on Monday.
Similar camps and graves were found earlier this month on the Thai side of the border. The victims included Bangladeshis and Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Some material for this report came from AFP and Reuters.
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