Villagers decry 'slaughter' of Rohingya as Thai PM vows inquiry
Fishermen say they saw up to 20 bodies floating in the water, near where Rohingya refugees claim the military opened fire on their group
More damning evidence has emerged of what villagers describe as the "slaughter" of Rohingya refugees by members of the Thai military near the holiday island of Phuket, with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pledging to investigate the incident.
A fisherman said he and others saw 15 to 20 corpses floating off the coast close to Hinlad village, near the port of Kuraburi, where four Rohingya survivors and villagers say shootings took place on February 22.
The four survivors, who were among about 130 boat people who arrived in the area from Myanmar on February 21, said last week that the shooting occurred as members of the Thai military tried to separate the refugees between two boats.
Some Rohingya refused. When the troops fired a warning shot, about 20 jumped overboard. The troops then opened fire on those in the water, survivors and villagers claimed.
"I saw three bodies, one of the bodies was a woman," fisherman Yutdana Sangtong said yesterday. "But my friends on the other side of the bay said they saw about 15 to 20 bodies all together."
I saw three bodies, one of the bodies was a woman,. But my friends on the other side of the bay said they saw about 15 to 20 bodies all together
Sangtong said a friend described the bodies as being in a decomposed state. He believes the currents have since carried the dead out to sea.