Thailand says 126 Rohingya boat people "escorted" to sea already

Bangkok - A group of 126 Rohingya boat people whom the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) wanted to access to determine whether they needed protection has already been pushed back to sea by Thai authorities, officials said.

 "These people have been escorted out of Thailand," said Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thonpakdi.

 On Tuesday the UNHCR requested access to 126 Rohingyas, members of a Muslim minority group from the North Arakan State in Myanmar, and said they should be kept in custody in southern Thailand to determine whether they were in need of international....