Four arrested for Thailand mass grave

According to international media, three Thais and one Myanmar national have been arrested in Thailand on suspicion of human trafficking, after the discovery of a mass grave last week.

The grave, containing 26 bodies, was found in an abandoned jungle camp close to the Malaysian border, and on a route regularly used by Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma).

The police have said the Thais arrested on Monday included one local council member from Songkhla province - where the camp was found - and two village officials. The arrested Myanmar national on the other hand was named as Soe Naing, known as Anwar and he was a "central figure who ran camps and sought ransoms", deputy police commander Anuchon Chamart told AFP news agency. Another four suspects – also believed to be local officials – are reportedly being sought by police.

Rights groups have long alleged that officials and local police are aware of, or complicit in, the trade.

Officials believe would-be migrants are held in the camps by traffickers who demand ransoms from their families. Many of the victims found in the camp are thought to have died from disease or starvation, while one man found alive at the camp has told Thai media there will be other mass graves in the area.

Every year thousands of people are reportedly trafficked through Thailand and into Malaysia. Rohingya Muslims in particular have used the route to flee persecution and sectarian violence in neighbouring Myanmar.

In 2012, more than 200 people were killed and thousands left homeless after violence broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar and anti-Muslim violence has flared several times since then. In December, the UN passed a resolution urging Myanmar to give access to citizenship for the Rohingya, many of whom are classed as stateless.