100 killed in fight over ‘little remaining food’ onboard migrant ship

Indonesia:  Migrants rescued from a sinking boat off Indonesia said around 100 people died after a fight broke out over the last remaining food.

Three men separately said people were stabbed, hanged or thrown overboard.

The 700 rescued migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were being processed by the Indonesian authorities on Sunday.

The migrants had wanted to land in Malaysia but say they were driven away by the country's navy.

The boat had reportedly been at sea for two months and had been recently deserted by its crew when it was rescued by Indonesian fishermen on Friday.

The survivors are now being sheltered in warehouses on the shore in Langsa, with many suffering from malnutrition and dehydration.

The Myanmar government has insisted it is not responsible for the migrant boat crisis and said it might not attend a forthcoming summit on the issue.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said he hoped to discuss the crisis with Myanmar “before it is brought to the international level”.

Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Buddhist-majority Myanmar - also known as Burma - because they are not recognised as citizens and face persecution.

Many of the Bangladeshis at sea are thought to be economic migrants.

On Sunday, there was reported to be at least five people -smuggling boats, carrying up to 1,000 migrants, moored just off the northern coast of Myanmar.