Over 80 Sri Lankans held in Diego Garcia; Foreign Ministry accessing information through missions

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said that it is looking at reports that surfaced about Sri Lankan refugees who are being held in Diego Garcia, a militarized atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said that information is being obtained via the UK High Commission in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan High Commission in the UK.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the group of Sri Lankans have been given an opportunity to return to the country on their own will.

Dozens of migrants have been stranded for months on a tiny British territory in the Indian Ocean after being rescued from their struggling fishing boat, the BBC reported on Sunday (11), adding that early one morning in October 2021, a fishing boat was spotted struggling near the island of Diego Garcia and the 89 people on board - Sri Lankan Tamils who said they were fleeing persecution - weren't actually intending to land on the island.

According to the BBC they had planned to seek asylum in Canada, a claim backed up by maps, diary entries and GPS data on board, before rough weather and engine problems pulled them off course.

The group had been detained in Diego Garcia for over 20 months.

Tents previously set up as Covid isolation facilities for military personnel are being used as a makeshift migrant camp. Fences surround the camp, and inside there are basic medical facilities and a canteen.