Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - At least 23 Rohingya immigrants ran away from a temporary shelter set up at the former immigration office in Ulee Blang Mane Village, Blang Mangat Sub-district, Lhokseumawe City, Aceh Province, on Tuesday.
The immigrants jumped the wall fence of the temporary shelter to escape, chief of the Lhokseumawe city police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Henki Ismanto, said in Lhokseumawe on Wednesday.
"They were found escaping on Tuesday at 12.30 p.m. WIB (West Standard Indonesian Time). At that time, security personnel found footprints on the wall fence while conducting a patrol around the temporary shelter," he said.
After finding the footprints, the security personnel checked Rohingya immigrants at the temporary shelter and found 23 of them, who had arrived in Indonesia on a boat, had fled, he said.
The escaped immigrants comprised eight male adults, four female adults, and 11 children, he informed.
"The security personnel are continuing to find them and reported the incident to UNHCR that Rohingya immigrants escaped the temporary shelter at the former immigration office in Lhokseumawe city," he informed.
The security personnel tried to find Rohingya immigrants around the former immigration office but to no avail. They also coordinated with police to find the 23 immigrants, he said.
Meanwhile, the number of Rohingya immigrants who are still at the shelter has reached 206.
"It is believed the escape of the Rohingya immigrants involves a human trafficking network from other region. The network picked up the Rohingya immigrants at the former immigration office and later took them to a certain place," he informed.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has advised UNHCR to shut down the rear fence of the building so that the immigrants will not be able to climb the wall fence.
"However, UNHCR has not responded to the IOM's suggestion so that 23 Rohingya immigrants escaped the temporary shelter," he said.
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