Sri Lankan navy detains asylum seekers

14 Jul 2012, 10:18 am   -   Source: AAP

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 41 people on suspicion of attempting to travel to Australia by boat, officials say.

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The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 41 people on suspicion of attempting to migrate illegally by boat to Australia, officials say.

They were detected off Trincomalee, 240 kilometres north-east of the capital Colombo, as they were travelling in a trawler to be transferred to a larger vessel.

Those arrested on Friday were ethnic Tamils from the north, an area that experienced years of civil war.

Many Tamils continue to suffer in the aftermath of the conflict between government troops and Tamil rebels, which ended in May 2009.

During recent weeks there has been a sudden increase in attempts by Sri Lankans to migrate to Australia by boat.

At least 10 attempts have been foiled during the past two months by the police and navy.

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