Hundreds of Rohingya Escape Malaysia Detention, Six Dead

More than 100,000 Rohingya live on the margins of society in the country, working illegally in construction and other low-paid jobs. (File/AFP)
More than 100,000 Rohingya live on the margins of society in the country, working illegally in construction and other low-paid jobs. (File/AFP)
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Hundreds of Rohingya Escape Malaysia Detention, Six Dead

More than 100,000 Rohingya live on the margins of society in the country, working illegally in construction and other low-paid jobs. (File/AFP)
More than 100,000 Rohingya live on the margins of society in the country, working illegally in construction and other low-paid jobs. (File/AFP)

Hundreds of Rohingya migrants from Myanmar broke out of a detention center in northern Malaysia on Wednesday with six killed on a highway as they escaped, authorities said.

Many Rohingya arrive in Malaysia by boat after enduring harrowing, months-long sea journeys. Those that are caught are often sent to detention centers, which rights groups say are typically overcrowded and filthy, AFP said.

A total of 528 people from the Muslim minority group fled a center in Kedah state at 4:30 am (2030 GMT Tuesday), the country's immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said.

"A total of 362 detainees have been re-arrested. The search for the remaining detainees is continuing," he said in a statement.

They broke through a door and barriers at the temporary immigration center, he added.

Six of the detainees were killed as they sought to cross a highway after escaping, said Penang state police chief Mohamad Shuhaily Mohamad Zain.

Those killed were two adult men, two adult women, one girl and one boy, he said.

Police, other agencies and the public are hunting for the detainees still missing.

Relatively affluent, Muslim-majority Malaysia is a key destination for Rohingya fleeing persecution in their predominantly Buddhist homeland or refugee camps in Bangladesh.

More than 100,000 Rohingya live on the margins of society in the country, working illegally in construction and other low-paid jobs.



Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
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Erdogan, Trump Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Defense Issues, Türkiye Says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint press conference after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (unseen) in Ankara, Türkiye, 12 March 2025. (EPA)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdogan's office said on Sunday.

He told Trump that Türkiye supports his "decisive and direct initiatives" to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Türkiye will continue to strive for a "just and lasting peace", the statement said.

Erdogan also spoke of "the importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalization," the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.

Türkiye also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Türkiye’s interests, it said.

In the battle against ISIS in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Türkiye regards as a terrorist group. Türkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.

Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize Ankara's F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 program in order to develop defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and the United States.

Ankara's past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted US sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.