Police in Thailand say they have found the bodies of 32 people believed to be ethnic Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar in an isolated jungle camp, along with one man who was alive but in weak condition.
Some of the bodies were buried, while others were covered with clothing and blankets at a shelter in the mountains of southern Songkla province, police Colonel Weerasant Tharnpiem said today.
It was not immediately clear what caused the deaths. Police say they believe the people are Rohingya partly because human traffickers commonly put Rohingya asylum seekers in temporary camps in the area before smuggling them to nearby Malaysia.
The Rohingya are a long-persecuted minority who face heavy discrimination in Myanmar, where sectarian violence in recent years has sparked an exodus to neighboring countries.
