Myanmar claims over 300,000 Rohingya refugees verified for repatriation

Myanmar's military-backed government announced that more than 300,000 Rohingya refugees currently residing in camps in Bangladesh are former residents of Rakhine state and will be accepted back once security conditions improve. This declaration was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement arrives as the Rohingya refugee crisis marks its ninth year. Hundreds of thousands fled Myanmar in August 2017 after a military crackdown, following attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group on guard posts in Rakhine. This operation forced over 700,000 Rohingya to cross into Bangladesh, joining others who had already been living there for decades due to previous waves of violence.

The scale and intensity of the 2017 operation led to accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide from the international community, including the United Nations. Myanmar, historically known as Burma, does not recognize the Rohingya as one of its 135 recognized ethnic minorities. Instead, the government refers to them as "Bengalis," suggesting they are originally from Bangladesh and have settled illegally in Myanmar.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of the end of July, Myanmar had verified 308,797 individuals out of 828,824 refugees on a list provided by Bangladesh. The ministry stated that 113,507 people could not be verified, and 4,241 were found to have been involved in "terrorist activities." Myanmar indicated it would continue collaborating with Bangladesh to receive verified former residents when security in Rakhine stabilizes.

The ministry also contested claims that over a million people were displaced from Rakhine, asserting that more than 540,000 crossed into Bangladesh after the 2017 violence, with over 200,000 remaining in northern Rakhine. A repatriation process agreed upon by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2018 has faced significant setbacks, particularly following the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government and triggered widespread armed resistance.