Jakarta holds S Lanka 'migrants'

Indonesia has detained nearly 260 Sri Lankans suspected of trying to sail illegally to Australia, an Indonesian navy spokesman says.

He said a cargo ship holding the would-be migrants had been intercepted by the navy in the Sunda Strait - between Java and Sumatra islands.

The Sri Lankans will now be taken to an immigration office for questioning.

Migrants from war-torn countries often sail through Indonesian waters to try to get to Australia.

An Indonesian Navy spokesman told the BBC that women and children were among the group.

Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils have left the country as a result of the fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the government forces.

It is not clear if the captured Sri Lankans in Indonesia were Tamils or Sinhalese.

In May, the Sri Lankan government announced the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers.