Myanmar Verifies 308,797 Rohingya for Return as Ninth Year of Crisis Begins
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 15
Myanmar Verifies 308,797 Rohingya for Return as Ninth Year of Crisis Begins
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 15
Summary
308,797 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been identified by Myanmar as former Rakhine residents eligible for return once security conditions improve, the military-backed government said.
426,545 people were verified from a Bangladeshi list of 828,824 by end-July; Myanmar said 113,507 could not be verified and 4,241 were linked to what it called terrorist activities.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after the 2017 military crackdown, which drew international accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide, while Myanmar still refuses to recognize Rohingya as an official ethnic minority.
Repatriation plans agreed in 2018 have repeatedly stalled as Myanmar's 2021 coup and later fighting with the Arakan Army destabilized Rakhine, pushing more people to flee and leaving camp residents with few safe return prospects.