Myanmar's military-backed government announced Saturday that it has verified over 300,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh as former residents of western Rakhine state, signaling a potential step toward repatriation as the crisis enters its ninth year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it has verified 308,797 individuals out of 426,545 refugees from a list provided by Bangladesh. The remaining refugees on the list could not be verified, and 4,241 were identified as having been involved in "terrorist activities," according to the statement.
The government indicated it would continue to work with Bangladesh to accept the verified former residents once security conditions in Rakhine state stabilize. This development follows the 2017 crackdown by the Myanmar military in response to attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group, which led to over 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. International bodies, including the United Nations, have accused Myanmar of ethnic cleansing and genocide due to the scale and ferocity of the operation.
Myanmar, which does not recognize the Rohingya as a native ethnic group, refers to them as Bengalis, implying they are from Bangladesh. The government also disputed claims of over one million displaced people, stating that more than 540,000 crossed into Bangladesh after 2017, with over 200,000 remaining in northern Rakhine.
Previous repatriation efforts have stalled. A two-year repatriation agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2018 failed to materialize. Security conditions in Myanmar further deteriorated after the military seized power in a 2021 coup, sparking widespread armed resistance. The conflict between the ethnic Arakan Army and the military over control of Rakhine in 2023 also led to an increase in refugees fleeing toward Bangladesh and elsewhere.
Compounded by poor camp conditions, reduced foreign aid, and a lack of safe return prospects, an increasing number of Rohingya refugees have attempted dangerous sea crossings to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Recently, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that Myanmar had agreed to accept 5,000 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia as part of a repatriation program. However, an official from Myanmar's foreign ministry later clarified that this program focused solely on verified Myanmar nationals in detention centers and denied any agreement to accept Rohingya refugees.