Indonesia Detains 29 Illegal Afghan Migrants

PALU, KOMPAS.com — Authorities say they have detained 29 illegal migrants from Afghanistan who were trying to reach Australia from Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. Local immigration official Yusuf Sadu said none had passports and visas, and it was not immediately clear how they managed to reach Sulawesi without travel documents.

Sadu said police detained seven men late Monday at an airport in the Central Sulawesi town of Palu and the others in a raid on a rented house early Tuesday. One person managed to escape.

He said the men told authorities they wanted to seek asylum in Australia. They were transferred to an immigration detention center in Palu. Indonesia has long been a transit point for people fleeing conflict-ridden countries such as Afghanistan.