Episode: KPN 18-08-2026

Bangladesh rejects Myanmar claim that only 540,000 Rohingya fled in 2016–17

Bangladesh has rejected Myanmar’s claim that only 540,000 people crossed into the country during the 2016–2017 Rohingya crisis, disputing Naypyidaw’s account of the mass displacement from northern Rakhine State and raising questions about the reliability of Myanmar’s verification process.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that more than 740,000 people it described as “Bengalis” had been living in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships before attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA.

According to Myanmar’s statement, more than 200,000 remained in those areas while more than 540,000 crossed into Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, however, rejected the figure.

Bangladesh Says Myanmar Was Given Detailed Refugee Data

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said Bangladesh had already provided Myanmar with detailed information on Rohingya refugees living in the country following the 2017 mass influx.

“We don’t accept the claim,” Mizanur said.

He said Bangladesh had submitted lists containing Rohingya names and other information required for individual verification.

“We, however, welcome the move that at least after nine years, they have come up with something,” he added.

According to Myanmar’s foreign ministry, Bangladesh submitted a list of 828,824 displaced people from Myanmar currently living in Bangladesh.

Myanmar said it had verified 426,545 individuals as of July 31, 2026.

Of those, 308,797 were confirmed by Myanmar as former residents of Rakhine State, according to the statement.

Myanmar also claimed that 4,241 individuals had been involved in what it called “terrorist activities,” while information concerning 113,507 people could not be verified.

Dhaka Questions Reliability of Verification Process

Bangladesh questioned whether Myanmar’s verification process was sufficiently accurate or up to date.

Mizanur said Myanmar may have relied on household records that had not been updated for years, creating the possibility of discrepancies.

“It’s not sure when they updated their household data, so there are chances of error,” he said.

He also noted that children born in refugee camps in Bangladesh after the 2017 exodus would not necessarily appear in Myanmar’s older population records.

According to Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner’s office, the Rohingya population in Bangladesh has now grown to more than 1.2 million, partly because of births in the camps since the mass displacement began.

“The verified persons can verify their relatives once the repatriation starts,” Mizanur said.

Myanmar Continues to Use ‘Bengali’ Term

Myanmar’s foreign ministry repeatedly referred to the displaced population as “Bengalis” rather than Rohingyas in its statement.

The term remains deeply contentious because Rohingya reject the designation and say it is used to deny their ethnic identity and historical roots in Myanmar.

Asked about Bangladesh’s position on Myanmar’s terminology, Mizanur said Dhaka had no comment on the use of the term.

Myanmar Says Repatriation Should Remain Bilateral

Myanmar issued the statement in response to what it described as criticism and reporting by international media concerning displaced people from Rakhine State.

The ministry accused some reports and broadcasts of being “one-sided” and based on misinformation or disinformation, saying it wanted to present what it described as the “true account” of the displacement.

Myanmar said it would continue cooperating with Bangladesh on the voluntary return of verified displaced people in what it described as a safe and dignified manner.

It also said people verified as former residents of Rakhine State would be accepted once the security situation became more stable.

Naypyidaw maintained that repatriation should be resolved between Bangladesh and Myanmar and objected to what it described as efforts to internationalise the issue.

Myanmar and UN Accounts Differ Sharply on 2017 Violence

Myanmar’s account of the 2016–2017 crisis differs sharply from findings by United Nations investigators.

Myanmar says ARSA carried out coordinated attacks on security posts in northern Rakhine State in October and November 2016 and again in August 2017.

According to Naypyidaw, those attacks prompted the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, to launch counter-terrorism operations, after which large numbers of local residents fled to Bangladesh.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reached substantially different conclusions.

In its August 2018 report, the mission found that Myanmar’s military and other security forces had committed serious human-rights violations against the Rohingya and said there were reasonable grounds to infer genocidal intent.

The UN mission documented the displacement of more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh following military operations that began in August 2017.

No Rohingya Repatriation Has Taken Place

Despite years of bilateral and international negotiations, Bangladesh has not been able to repatriate any significant number of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Previous repatriation initiatives failed after refugees declined to return without guarantees of citizenship, security, freedom of movement and basic rights.

The continuing dispute over the scale of displacement, refugee identity and verification procedures adds another layer of uncertainty to prospects for future repatriation.

For Rohingya refugees, voluntary, safe and dignified return remains closely tied to broader demands for legal recognition, citizenship and protection from renewed persecution in Myanmar.

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