40 undocumented Rohingyas were arrested by the Military Council and its joint forces near Wae Kali village of Thanbyuzayat Township in Mon State, locals said.

Due to a tip-off that Rohingyas were hiding in a thatch forest south of Wae Kali village, the Military Council and joint forces searched the area and arrested them around 11:00 AM on February 19th.

“Of course. The villages provide the information. They (Rohingyas) came by boat and the villagers informed the administrative officials because they didn't know what they were doing in the forest. I heard that they were waiting for a car to continue to Thailand”, a local said.

Among the detained Rohingya are 25 men, 12 women and 3 children, and they don’t even speak Myanmar well.

The Rohingya are locals from Rakhine State, and they came to Mon State by arrangements of the brokers and intend to continue from Thailand to Malaysia through there.

A person close to the Wae Kali village administration office said that the arrested Rohingya are currently being held at the Thanbyuzayat police station and are still being interrogated.

“ They are still detained at the police station and being interrogated. They all say they are waiting to cross to the Thai side. They also said they came from Rakhine”, the source said.

In December last year, around 100 Rohingyas who entered through the waterway were caught in Mudon and Mawlamyine.

After the coup by the military, there have been frequent incidents of undocumented Rohingyas being arrested all over Myanmar, including Mon State, and some have even been killed without being caught on the way in certain occasions