Illegal Afghans flock to Singkawang

Illegal Afghans flock to Singkawang

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: Singkawang Immigration office has
been overwhelmed by an influx of illegal immigrants from war-torn
Afghanistan.

Over the past two weeks alone, the office has dealt with 32
Afghans transferred by Singkawang police.

"We are overwhelmed by the illegal arrivals of Afghans,"
Singkawang immigration office chief Yusuf said as quoted by
Antara.

The Afghans arrived in two batches. The first group of 17
people landed on July 30 and the other 15 on Aug. 9. Most of them
do not have any official documents.

The Afghans were found stranded in Sambas regency by locals,
who took them to the police.

Yusuf said that the illegal aliens were put in the Singkawang
prison while awaiting help from the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jakarta.

He said that he has yet to discover whether the Afghans were
stranded in Sambas on their way to another country or if
Indonesia was their destination country. (07)