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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey says it is donating $1 million to the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency to help ease Southeast Asia's migrant crisis and is exploring ways of organizing a humanitarian aid operation to reach Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis stranded at sea.
The Foreign Ministry announcement on Wednesday came a day after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey was doing its best to reach the Rohingya through the IOM and a Turkish navy ship in the region.
More than 3,000 people — Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis escaping poverty — have landed in overcrowded boats on the shores of Southeast Asian countries.
Aid groups estimate thousands more are stranded at sea following a crackdown on human traffickers that prompted captains to abandon their boats.
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