80 Rohingyas detained in Myanmar

More than 80 Rohingya people seeking to travel by boat to Malaysia have been detained in Myanmar's southeast after traffickers abandoned them, a security source told AFP yesterday.

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's western Rakhine state are widely regarded as illegal immigrants in the Buddhist-majority country and have long faced discrimination, been denied citizenship, health care and education.

The group, which included women and children, had been detained by authorities on Friday near Thanbyuzayat town in Mon state, a security source who didn't want to be named told AFP.

"They were hiding near rubber farms after the boats which they took from Rakhine state left them," the source said, adding that traffickers had promised to take them to Malaysia.