Malaysians stranded in Myanmar unrest arrive home

 

Wisma Putra says the evacuation mission was carried out through the Myanmar-China border with the approval of the countries involved.

KUALA LUMPUR: One hundred and twenty-one Malaysians stranded in Laukkaing, Myanmar, following unrest in the region have returned home.

They arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 3.24am today, the foreign affairs ministry said.

They were suspected of being victims of fraud syndicates.

In a statement, Wisma Putra said the Malaysians arrived on a special AirAsia flight from Kunming, China, and were welcomed by deputy foreign affairs minister Mohamad Alamin.

It said the Malaysian embassy in Yangon and the Malaysian consulate-general in Kunming had coordinated the evacuation mission through the Myanmar-China border from yesterday morning with the cooperation and approval of the countries involved.

The evacuation followed a meeting between deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof and Chinese vice-premier Liu Guozhong and Chinese official Ding Xuexiang during Fadillah’s official visit to China on Nov 16.

Accompanying the Malaysians from Laukkaing was an Indonesian citizen.

Fighting has continued in northern Myanmar after a surprise offensive by an alliance of armed ethnic minority groups last month. They seized control of several border crossings to China, causing significant disruptions to trade.

Unrest in Myanmar’s border region has consistently posed challenges for China, despite its backing of the country’s military rulers who assumed power in a takeover in 2021. - FMT