Several hundred boat people go traceless

At least 1,000 people believed to be Rohingyas and Bangladeshis boarded boats of human traffickers from the Bay of Bengal between July and September this year, says a UNHCR periodic report released last week.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has confirmed the arrival of about 100 such people in Malaysia but it has no information about the whereabouts of the rest.

Publishing its third quarter (July-September) of 2015 report on "Mixed Maritime Movements in South-East Asia," it says it is difficult to independently verify the information.

By this time, dozens of persons of concern to UNHCR reportedly crossed overland from Thailand into Malaysia undetected, the UN agency adds.

Following the crackdown on smugglers' jungle camps in the first half of 2015, smugglers were said to be leasing houses in southern Thailand to keep groups of 15-20 people until their passage to Malaysia could be arranged, it says.

The information is compiled from various sources, including governments, implementing partners, media reports, and hundreds of direct interviews with persons of concern who have undertaken mixed maritime journeys in South-East Asia.

Earlier, UNHCR estimated that some 31,000 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis departed from the Bay of Bengal on traffickers' boats between January and June.

At least 370 boat people were estimated to have died in these waters since 2015.

The UNHCR report traces the events of May 2015 when such maritime movements and government responses were thrust into the spotlight following the discovery of mass graves of people who died from abuse or deprivation in smugglers' camps along the Thailand-Malaysia border.

The boat movements had temporarily stopped due to the monsoon rains, which have caused severe flooding in many areas across Myanmar.

But the maritime departures are expected to resume once the weather improves in the coming weeks.