Meulaboh, Indonesia – At a damaged temporary shelter in western Indonesia, Rohingya men slick their hair with gel while women apply make-up and colourful hijabs to look the part for prayers at the start of Eid-al-Fitr festivities.

Johannes Nugroho – The orange truck crammed with 75 Rohingya survivors of a capsized boat was told to hurry along by Indonesian police in Beureugang, West Aceh, as dozens of angry villagers gave chase, shouting "[we] reject the presence of refugees here!"

Antara, Meulaboh, Aceh – An Indonesian ulema has appealed to the people of Aceh to remain wise and uphold human values in responding to Rohingya refugees' presence in the province.

Taufik Kelana, Aceh – Four suspects involved in smuggling 75 Rohingya refugees into the waters of West Aceh have been arrested by the West Aceh District Police. Currently, they are awaiting legal proceedings.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is launching an investigation into the human bones that were discovered at the site of a memorial park in Aceh's Pidie regency to commemorate the victims of the Rumoh Geudong tragedy.

Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews, Jakarta, Indonesia – For the second time in three months, a belligerent and resentful crowd of locals in Indonesia's Aceh province made authorities move dozens of newly arrived Rohingya refugees from their shelter by storming the facility, officials said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Dozens of Rohingya refugees saved after their boat capsized off Indonesia's westernmost coast last week have been forced from their temporary shelter due to local protests, a United Nations refugee agency official said Wednesday.

Jakarta (Agencies) – The bodies of at least five Rohingya refugees have been recovered off Aceh coast after their boat believed to be carrying around 150 people capsized last week, United Nations officials said Monday.

Jakarta – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in a written statement, expressed their deep concern and mobilized support in response to the tragedy when a vessel transporting 151 Rohingya refugees overturned in Aceh, leading to a significant loss of life.

Zach Hope and Karuni Rompies – More than 60 refugees are feared starved at sea or drowned while possibly trying to reach Australia by boat.

The wooden vessel was carrying scores of Rohingya, a persecuted ethnic minority in Myanmar, when it capsized on Wednesday near the city of Meulaboh in West Aceh.

Jakarta – Rescuers called off the search for Rohingya refugees missing at sea after their boat capsized, despite reports from some of the survivors that dozens of people were swept away.

Jakarta – Fishermen in Aceh were scrambling on Wednesday to rescue dozens of Rohingya after high tides capsized their boat in waters off the province, a regional fishing chief said.

Teras.Id, Kabartamiang.Com, Jakarta – RJ and SL, two residents of Kampung Banjir, Karang Baru, Aceh Tamiang Regency, were sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane for being found guilty of adultery.

Both were convicted of violating the Aceh provincial regulation or Aceh Qanun Number 06/2014 on Jinayat, or Islamic criminal law.

Jakarta – Over 130 Rohingya landed on the shores of Aceh province on Thursday, an official at the UN refugee agency said, the latest in a series of such arrivals that have drawn controversy in the Southeast Asian country.

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Ardila Syakriah – In early December, hundreds of Rohingya refugees walked along the shore of Aceh province in Indonesia, with nothing to guide them but the faint glow of lights in a nearby village. After a treacherous journey by boat, they had already been turned away by locals in one area of Aceh and were seeking refuge elsewhere.

Catholic charity Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has joined other groups to deplore the ongoing smear campaign on social media sites vilifying Rohingya refugees in Indonesia.

A series of anti-Rohingya posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, prompted the Indonesian government and media outlets to publish fact-checked articles over the past few days.

Jakarta – Civil society activists from a cross-section of organisations suspect that there is a major effort on social media to spread disinformation or false narratives in order to trigger opposition to Rohingya refugees in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh.

Alif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – North Aceh Regency has been hit by flooding since Sunday, Dec. 24, following high-intensity rain in the upstream area of Bener Meriah District, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) reported.

Jakarta – An Indonesian navy vessel in Aceh drove away a boat carrying Rohingya from Myanmar, a military spokesperson said, as growing numbers of would-be refugees from the strife-torn country face hostility from locals.

The wooden boat was encountered in waters near Weh Island, off Sumatra, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar said.

Uzair Thamrin and Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews, Banda Aceh and Jakarta – Human rights activists and some observers on Thursday alleged that university students who stormed a Rohingya shelter in Aceh province the day before had been influenced by an "organized" disinformation campaign, which some even linked to the upcoming general election.

Jakarta – Hundreds of university students in Indonesia's westernmost province stormed a temporary shelter for more than a hundred Rohingya refugees on Wednesday, forcing them to leave in the latest rejection of the persecuted Myanmar minority.

Banda Aceh – Students in Indonesia's Aceh province rallied on Wednesday demanding the government drive away Rohingya refugees arriving by boat in growing numbers as police named more suspects of human trafficking.

UN News – The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has appealed for action in the wake of a mob attack against refugees in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

Hundreds of young people stormed a building basement where scores of Rohingya refugees were sheltered, according to media reports.

Joniansyah Hardjono, Jakarta – For the sake of humanity, the Indonesian government must not be hypocritical or wash its hands of Rohingya refugees.

There is no use in blaming some of the people in Aceh who are refusing to accept Rohingya refugees. What should be questioned is the government's phobia about dealing with these waves of boat people.

Jakarta – The central government must help the people and government of Aceh deal with the ongoing influx of Rohingya refugees and, if necessary, take over their humanitarian burden. The beleaguered Rohingya, our Southeast Asian neighbors, have fled their homes and shelters to escape systematic ethnic cleansing and seek a better future.

Nivell Rayda, Lhokseumawe, Indonesia – For two weeks, Mr Mohammad Ershad, his wife and two sons were crammed inside the hull of a wooden fishing boat with 218 others.

To avoid detection by the authorities, the Rohingyas were told by people smugglers to stay below deck for the majority of their 1,800km journey across the treacherous Andaman Sea from Bangladesh to Indonesia.

Moh Khory Alfarizi, Andika Dwi, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md explained that Indonesia is only temporarily sheltering Rohingya refugees since the country is following humanitarian principles under its constitution.

Some of the more than 300 Rohingya refugees who arrived on the western coasts of Indonesia last Sunday (10) were transferred to a temporary shelter during the visit of a UN representative.

Nabiila Azzahra A., Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi held one-on-one talks with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Riri Rahayu, Daniel A Fajri, Jakarta – Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno hopes that the arrival of Rohingya refugees will not tarnish the image of Indonesian tourism, especially Aceh's tourism.

Edna Tarigan and Reza Saifullah, Banda Aceh, Indonesia – Indonesia said Tuesday it is appealing to the international community for help after more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on its shores by boat since November.

Antara, Banda Aceh – The Aceh provincial government's plan to shelter 137 refugees at Pidie district's scout campsite was met with resistance from locals on Monday, December 11, 2023, an Indonesian Inter-Residents Radio (RAPI) Task Force personnel said.

Aceh Besar – Two boats carrying more than 300 Rohingya Muslims, including emaciated women and children, arrived at Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday morning after being adrift for weeks.

One boat, which had been at sea for about one and a half months and carrying 135 passengers, arrived at a beach in Lamreh village in Aceh Besar Regency.

Jakarta – Dilapidated boats carrying an estimated 400 ethnic Rohingya arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province on Dec 10, the chief of a provincial fishing community has confirmed, adding to a recent surge of Myanmar's Muslim minority arriving in the country.

Reza Saifullah and Edna Tarigan, Aceh Besar, Indonesia – Two boats carrying more than 300 Rohingya Muslims, including emaciated women and children, arrived at Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday morning after being adrift for weeks.

BeritaSatu, Banda Aceh – Indonesian authorities have arrested a Bangladeshi national on charges of smuggling 149 Rohingya refugees into the coasts of Aceh in exchange for monetary gains.

Hussain Bakhtiar bin Saber Ahmad, 70, stands accused of receiving approximately Rp 3.3 billion ($213,000) from the refugees, facilitating their entry into Aceh.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno addressed the presence of Rohingya refugees in Aceh, fearing they may end up being part of human trafficking crimes. Sandia said he was concerned about the situation, and how it could affect the tourism in Aceh.

Arti Ekawati – Zuhara Bagem, a Rohingya asylum-seeker who arrived with his family in Indonesia's Aceh province at the end of November, was relieved when the boat was allowed to land at Bireuen beach.

"If he had stayed on that boat for another one or two days, my children would probably have died. We had not eaten anything for ten days," Zuhara told DW.

Banda Aceh – More than one hundred Indonesians protested Wednesday against Rohingya refugees who arrived on a western island by boat last week, calling for them to be relocated and clashing with police.

Krisiandi, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia says that the Indonesian government will violate human rights if it repatriates Rohingya refugees to their country of origin, Myanmar.

Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said that all countries are obliged to protect anyone that is fleeing repression and persecution in their country of origin.

Sultan Abdurrahman, Daniel A. Fajri, Nabiila Azzahra, Jakarta – National Police Chief Gen. Sigit Prabowo spoke about Rohingya refugees who are currently in Aceh. According to the general, the asylum seekers are only in Indonesia for transit before continuing to their destination countries.

Nino Viartasiwi & Antje Missbach – Every year when the monsoon season in Bangladesh ends, risky journeys of Rohingya refugees take off en route to Malaysia. Not all passengers who embark from the refugee camps near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border reach their destination alive.

Taufik Kelana, Sabang – Residents of a secluded village in Aceh, the westernmost province of Indonesia, declined entry to 139 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar on Sunday.

The refugees, consisting mostly of women and children, reached the coastal area of Ie Meulee village in Sabang on Saturday.

Jakarta – Some 170 ethnic Rohingya people arrived in Indonesia on Saturday, head of a provincial fishing community said, in the latest boat arrivals in recent weeks that have brought more than 1,000 from Myanmar's Muslim minority to the country.

Banda Aceh – More than 100 Rohingya refugees including women and children landed in Indonesia's westernmost province on Saturday, officials said, but locals were threatening to push them back to sea.

Jakarta – Prosecutors have asked the Jakarta Military Court to hand down the death penalty to three soldiers accused of kidnapping, torturing and murdering a shopkeeper from Aceh.

Lhokseumawe, Aceh – Indonesian police and fishermen said Saturday they have begun patrolling parts of the country's westernmost province to prevent Rohingya refugees from landing on its shores, after nearly 1,100 members of the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived this month.

Antara, Suka Makmue – The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh, recorded that 41 villages spread across nine sub-districts were flooded with water levels reaching more than one meter.

Chaideer Mahyuddin and Marchio Gorbiano (AFP), Sabang, Aceh/Jakarta – More than 200 Rohingya refugees were huddled on the beaches of Sabang island, Aceh, Wednesday after weeks adrift on a wooden boat, as authorities rejected locals' efforts to push the members of the persecuted Myanmar minority back to sea.

Associated Press, Lhokseumawe – Almost 1,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have arrived by boat in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh in the last six days, officials said Monday.