YANGON: Myanmar’s military-backed government has verified that nearly 309,000 displaced people in camps in Bangladesh are former residents of the troubled Rakhine State, but repatriation will proceed only after security in Rakhine improves, the foreign ministry said.

Myanmar has verified 308,797 displaced people in Bangladesh as former Rakhine residents out of 828,824 names submitted as of July 31, 2026, the foreign ministry said in a statement over the weekend.

According to the United Nations, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017 after a crackdown by Myanmar security forces, and many more are still leaving via uncertain sea and land journeys.

Myanmar says it has identified 4,241 people on Bangladesh’s repatriation list it alleged were involved in terrorist activities, while a further 113,507 could not be verified.

Myanmar says repatriation will begin only when security conditions in Rakhine State become more stable. Myanmar’s military is fighting the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group based in Rakhine that has sought greater autonomy for the region.

Myanmar says repatriation is strictly a bilateral matter with Bangladesh. Myanmar says previous repatriation arrangements in 2018 and 2019 resulted in no returnees despite bilateral preparations.

Myanmar agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya asylum seekers from Malaysia, but Malaysia said the repatriation would not proceed if lives were at risk.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2026