Nearly 1,500 Myanmar Refugees, Migrants Returned from Malaysia

Nearly 1,500 Myanmar Refugees, Migrants Returned from Malaysia
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Nearly 1,500 Myanmar refugees and migrants have been returned from Malaysia to war-torn Myanmar under a repatriation program that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations refugee agency.

A group of 1,479 people arrived in southern Yangon on Sunday after being transported from Malaysia aboard two navy vessels and a hospital ship.

The returnees are part of a plan to repatriate around 5,000 Myanmar nationals from Malaysia, where more than 10,300 others remain in immigration detention centers.

Malaysia is preparing to return a second group of more than 3,500 refugees and migrants. The country is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, including more than 126,000 mainly Rohingya refugees.

The repatriations come as Myanmar remains embroiled in civil war following the military takeover in 2021. The Rohingya, who make up the majority of Myanmar refugees in Malaysia, have faced persecution and displacement for years.

Human rights groups and UNHCR have raised concerns over the safety of returnees, including the risk of persecution and forced military conscription. UNHCR staff were reportedly unable to meet the returnees before their departure to assess whether their decisions to return were voluntary and informed.