Myanmar Identifies 180,000 Rohingya for Repatriation

Myanmar has identified 180,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as “eligible” for repatriation, Anadolu Agency reported citing the interim government leader Muhammad Yunus. This announcement was made during his attendance at the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Bangkok.

Out of approximately 800,000 Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, this group has been confirmed for return. Yunus received this information from U Than Shew, Myanmar’s foreign minister, who stated that verification of the remaining 550,000 Rohingya would proceed expeditiously.

Bangladesh currently hosts over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military in 2017, which has been labeled as genocide by various human rights organizations. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sought an arrest warrant against Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing for his role in the violence that forced many to seek refuge in Bangladesh.