Australia Warns Boat People Heading To Its Shores

Australia has intercepted a boat carrying almost 200 illegal migrants and is warning of a surge in displaced people heading to its shores from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The vessel is the largest of the 15 boats of unauthorized arrivals detained in Australian waters so far this year. The Australian navy intercepted the boat carrying 194 people, believed to be Sri Lankan Tamils, about 40 kilometers from Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. The suspected asylum seekers have been transferred to an immigration center on Christmas Island, where they will undergo health and security checks. The Christmas Island detention facility can hold 800 inmates and houses asylum-seekers while their claims for refugee status are processed. In Canberra, officials say there has been a sharp increase in the number of displaced people moving through the region to escape conflicts in South Asia, and that many would attempt to reach Australia by boat. Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the government is "very concerned" about the continued arrival of illegal boat people. "We've got an awful lot of people moving through Southeast Asia at the moment; the worsening situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and of course the developments in Sri Lanka means that there's a lot of people seeking safe haven throughout Southeast Asia, and many of them hoping to come to Australia," Evans said. (Cont)
Source: VOA; Phil Mercer
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