17:25, May 12, 2015
As many as 8,000 people from Bangladesh and Myanmar are stranded in the Malacca Strait, the BBC and other news agencies report.
The Indonesian navy has reportedly turned away a boat filled with hundreds of the migrants, claiming that its passengers wanted to reach Malaysia instead.
Indonesian navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir said that the vessel had been provided with food, water and medical supplies before being sent back to sea.
However, the International Organization for Migration said that the decision was "shocking" and that "these people need to land".
Joe Lowry, an IOM spokesman, told the BBC that people on the ships were likely to be suffering from serious illnesses and required "immediate humanitarian assistance".
Armenian News
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