Myanmar says 10,000 migrants returned from Malaysia this year

Myanmar has repatriated nearly 10,000 migrants from Malaysia this year, state media reported on Monday, following a ship with almost 1,500 returnees docking in the country the previous day. The UN has criticised Malaysia's efforts to return migrants to Myanmar under a scheme it deems inadequate for ensuring safe reintegration due to the war-torn nation's instability.

A group of 1,476 passengers disembarked from the vessel outside Yangon on Sunday, marking the first batch of the 5,000 Myanmar agreed to receive amid a surge in anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia. Human rights observers have expressed concerns that Rohingya minorities might be among the returnees, given their history of persecution in Myanmar, but Malaysia has not disclosed the ethnic backgrounds of the returnees.

Alongside the ship-based repatriation, an additional 8,041 citizens were brought back to Myanmar by plane between January and August this year, according to the state-run newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar. While the vessel arrivals have been widely publicised in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has not commented on the air-based repatriations.

The cumulative tally of migrants Myanmar claims returned via ship and plane this year stands at 9,517. Malaysia asserts that returnees willingly chose repatriation from detention centers, where Myanmar alleges they faced hardships following their immigration sentence completion. However, rights groups allege dire conditions in these facilities, and the UN refugee agency claims officials were barred from confirming the voluntariness of the return decisions.

Over 100,000 people are estimated to have perished since Myanmar's military coup in 2021, which has sparked civil war, according to the ACLED monitoring organization. The Rohingya constitute two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, and have been the target of recent anti-migrant sentiment. Following the ships' arrival in Thanlyin, south of Yangon, on Sunday, AFP journalists observed dozens being transferred to a monastery holding center for identification and health screenings.

Efforts are ongoing to facilitate their prompt reunification with relatives and ensure safe transport to their hometowns, according to The Global New Light of Myanmar.