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High-ranking Thai officers investigated in Rohingya trafficking

 
Published on Jan 22, 2013
10:11 PM
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Migrants thought to be from Myanmar's Muslim-minority Rohingya are pictured at a detention centre after they were rounded up in raids on hidden camps in the Thai south, in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on Jan 16, 2013. A colonel and another high-ranking Thai army officer have been temporarily removed from their posts while they are investigated for suspected involvement in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority to a third country, the senior commander for southern Thailand said on Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK (AP) - A colonel and another high-ranking Thai army officer have been temporarily removed from their posts while they are investigated for suspected involvement in trafficking refugees from Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority to a third country, the senior commander for southern Thailand said on Tuesday.

More than 800 beleaguered Rohingya were found in raids in Thailand's southern border province of Songkhla this month after they fled sectarian violence in western Myanmar that has killed hundreds of people and displaced some 100,000 more since June.

Thai police arrested eight trafficking suspects after one of the raids and are searching for three others, including an influential local politician.

Thai media reported over the weekend that at least two senior military officers were involved in the trafficking network.

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