Southern Thailand: Myanmar

Myanmar: BANGKOK - A group of Muslim Rohingya asylum-seekers in southern Thailand escaped from an immigration detention center on Tuesday, highlighting the growing desperation of a stateless minority fleeing sectarian violence in Myanmar, according to Reuters. The 87 escapees used blades to cut through iron bars and hacked at cement walls before disappearing into nearby rubber plantations, prompting a large search operation, said Suwit Chernsiri, police commander of the southern province of Songkla and By Amy Sawitta Lefevre Rights activists are critical of Thailand's response to the influx of Rohingya and have urged the authorities not to deport the refugees back to Myanmar, where they face pervasive discrimination. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.