Myanmar has confirmed that 180,000 Rohingya refugees, who have been living in Bangladesh since they fled their homeland are eligible to return.
This news was announced by Bangladesh's government press office on Friday, April 4.
As per Reuters, the announcement came after a meeting in Bangkok between Khalilur Rahman, representing Bangladesh's interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and Than Swe, Myanmar’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
This could be a step forward in the long-stalled process of repatriating the Rohingya to Myanmar.
Over a million Rohingya refugees are living in overcrowded camps in southeastern Bangladesh, which is the largest refugee settlement in the world.
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Most of them fled Myanmar in 2017 due to a violent military crackdown, although some had arrived earlier.
Around 70,000 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh last year as they faced increasing hunger and violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Myanmar has confirmed that 180,000 Rohingya refugees are eligible to return.
These names were part of a larger list of 800,000 Rohingya refugees that Bangladesh had submitted to Myanmar in six batches between 2018 and 2020.
Additionally, Myanmar stated that the final verification process for another 70,000 refugees is still ongoing, as they are reviewing their photographs and identity details.
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