Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals arrive after Malaysia repatriation
A group of 1,479 Myanmar refugees and migrants has arrived in Yangon from Malaysia under a repatriation scheme criticised by rights groups and the UN refugee agency. Malaysia says returns are voluntary, but UNHCR staff were not allowed to verify whether decisions were freely and fully informed before departure.
Nearly 1,500 Myanmar refugees and migrants deported from Malaysia have arrived in southern Yangon, despite warnings that returning to Myanmar could expose them to persecution and other dangers. The 1,479 people arrived on Sunday after being transported from Malaysia aboard two navy vessels and a hospital ship, according to Nay Lin Tun, a regional government minister. They are part of a planned repatriation of about 5,000 Myanmar nationals.
Malaysia’s Home Ministry says more than 10,300 others remain in immigration detention centres. Malaysia maintains that all those returned agreed to go voluntarily. Human rights organisations and the United Nations refugee agency have questioned that claim, however.
UNHCR said its staff were not permitted to meet the people being sent back, meaning it could not establish whether their decisions were genuinely free and informed. It is not clear how many Rohingya were among the arrivals. Rohingya people form the majority of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, where the UNHCR registers about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers, including more than 126,000 mainly Muslim Rohingya.
The repatriations followed intensified immigration raids in Malaysia. The material says more than 50,000 refugees were detained in 2026. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the scheme in July amid growing hostility towards refugees, while the government has said migrants create financial, social and security pressures.
Myanmar has pledged that returns will be safe and dignified. Rights specialist Yap Lay Sheng of Fortify Rights said there was no certainty about how the military authorities would treat those sent back. The UNHCR and rights groups have warned that returnees could face persecution or forced military conscription.
Myanmar has been in civil war since the military seized power in 2021, and the supplied material says more than 100,000 people have been killed since the coup, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project.
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