30 more suspected Rohingya graves found in S. Thailand

Thai police found 30 more graves at the site of a deserted detention camp for illegal Rohingya migrants in Hat Yai district of southern Songkhla province on Thursday morning, local media reported.

The graves are similar to those found earlier in the woods of Thailand's Padang Besar area of Songkhla, which borders Malaysia's Perlis state, Bangkok Post reported, citing local officials.

Since May 1, around 40 such graves have been uncovered in Padang Besar, with at least 32 bodies of deceased Rohingya migrants exhumed.

The police are investigating into the deaths of the migrants who were believed to have been brought into the Thai territory by a human trafficking racket.

The 30 new graves found in an old graveyard at Ban Chalung village in Hat Yai are yet to be opened for examination, local police said.

The graves have been at the burial ground, which had been left unused for nearly four decades, for about a year, villagers were quoted as saying.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has given local authorities a 10-day deadline to effectually combat human trafficking in the Thai-Malaysian border area and bring those allegedly held responsible for the deaths of the Rohingyas and other human trafficking suspects to justice.

Thirty-eight police officers in southern provinces of Satun, Ranong, and Songkhla, who are believed to have been involved in the trafficking of Rohingyas, have been transferred to inactive posts and new officers will be appointed to fill the vacancies, according to Royal Thai Police Chief Somyos Pumpanmuang. Endi