The military government of Myanmar has verified approximately 309,000 displaced people currently in Bangladesh as former residents of Rakhine State. In a statement released over the weekend, the foreign ministry confirmed the status of 308,797 individuals out of a total of 828,824 names submitted by Bangladesh as of July 31, 2026. However, the ministry stated that the formal return of these individuals will only proceed once security conditions in Rakhine State improve.
The verification process follows years of displacement originating in 2017, when the United Nations reported that more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during a crackdown by Myanmar security forces. While Myanmar has identified a portion of the population for return, the government reported that 113,507 individuals could not be verified and 4,241 people on the submitted lists were allegedly involved in terrorist activities.
Current security issues in Rakhine State involve ongoing conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking greater autonomy for the region. Myanmar officials maintain that repatriation is a bilateral matter between Myanmar and Bangladesh, noting that previous attempts to organize returns in 2018 and 2019 resulted in no refugees moving back despite preparations by both nations.
On a day-to-day level, the displaced population will not see changes to their legal status or living conditions in the immediate future. Because Myanmar has tied repatriation to "stable" security conditions without providing a specific date, those in the camps will continue to face the scarcity of food and lack of economic opportunity that the United Nations previously warned could worsen. For the host government of Bangladesh, the delay extends the financial and administrative responsibility of managing one of the world's largest refugee populations, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars in annual humanitarian assistance.
The verification also impacts regional relations beyond Bangladesh. Myanmar recently agreed to take back 5,000 asylum seekers from Malaysia, but the Malaysian government has stated that this repatriation will not occur if the lives of the returnees are at risk. The ongoing conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army serves as the primary barrier to these transfers. No specific dates for the commencement of returns have been established, as Myanmar officials stated they will wait for improved stability before proceeding with the bilateral plan.