Malaysia begins sending back Rohingya refugees despite safety warnings

Malaysia has begun sending astir 1,500 Rohingya refugees backmost to Myanmar, describing their instrumentality arsenic voluntary contempt warnings from the United Nations and rights groups that Myanmar remains unsafe for them.

Dozens of buses arrived nether constabulary escort astatine a stadium adjacent the Lumut naval basal successful northwestern Malaysia connected Tuesday, the AFP quality bureau reported. Journalists were barred from the grounds. The passengers were expected to beryllium processed earlier being taken to the basal and transported to Myanmar by ship.

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The Myanmar service has repeatedly cracked down connected the country’s Rohingya minority, including a question of unit successful 2017 that galore rights groups person described arsenic genocide, and which acceptable disconnected a large exile crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and different neighbouring nations. Myanmar does not officially recognise the Rohingya arsenic an taste assemblage with section roots, alternatively describing them arsenic “Bengalis” — successful effect, calling them Bangladeshi migrants.

As of February 2026, Malaysia had much than 126,144 Rohingya refugees. Bangladesh hosts the astir Rohingya refugees — much than 1.2 million.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said successful July that Myanmar had agreed to instrumentality backmost 5,000 Rohingya, leaving a question astir who is being sent back. The astir 1,500 picked for repatriation connected Tuesday are portion of the group. The Ministry of Home Affairs said 2 Myanmar naval warships and a infirmary vessel would beryllium used.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it had nary relation successful the cognition and warned that continuing struggle and unit successful Myanmar meant conditions for harmless and dignified returns did not exist. “Any exile instrumentality indispensable beryllium voluntary, based connected an informed decision, and instrumentality spot successful conditions of information and dignity,” it told the Reuters quality agency.

Malaysia’s Home Ministry declined to remark connected the warning, referring to its earlier connection that the returns were voluntary.

Rights advocates question whether radical held successful detention tin freely take to instrumentality to a state they fled.

“The genocide has ne'er stopped. Sending Rohingya backmost to this is not repatriation,” Nay San Lwin, cochair of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), a radical representing the Rohingya, told Al Jazeera. “It is sending radical backmost to a sidesplitting field. We telephone connected Malaysia to halt each returns of Rohingya to Myanmar until it is safe.”

He argued that Malaysia’s determination to nonstop refugees backmost to Myanmar came astatine a clip erstwhile aggravated warring was taking place between the service and rebel groups, including the Arakan Army.

“The Myanmar subject has mislaid power of overmuch of the Rohingya homeland, and its warring with the Arakan Army is inactive ongoing, with Rohingya caught successful the middle. Both the subject and the Arakan Army are committing atrocities against the Rohingya,” helium said.

Ro Mayyu Islam, founding Chair of the Center for Rohingya Crisis Studies based successful Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, besides opposed the repatriation nether the contiguous conditions.

“Do not confuse repatriation with resolution. Moving Rohingya from Malaysian detention centres to Myanmar does not lick the Rohingya crisis. Address the conditions that forced america to flee, and past marque the instrumentality genuinely safe, voluntary and sustainable,” helium told Al Jazeera from Cox’s Bazaar.

“We are not asking the satellite to support america refugees. We are demanding the close to instrumentality location arsenic adjacent quality beings with citizenship, security, dignity and cardinal rights.”

Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has urged Malaysia to halt the returns and disclose who was being sent backmost and what risks each idiosyncratic faced. “Refugees should not beryllium returned to places they’ve fled and wherever their lives are astatine risk,” the organisation said.

More than 160 civilian nine organisations besides called for the repatriation to stop, citing unit and the hazard that Rohingya could beryllium pressed into equipped groups. Their informing comes arsenic Myanmar’s subject fights the Arakan Army successful Rakhine state, the portion from which galore Rohingya fled.

Myanmar’s authorities has promised “safe and dignified” returns for the Rohingya. Meanwhile, Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has said the state would not instrumentality radical if they faced persecution oregon threats to their lives.

For Rohingya who person already gone back, the question is what awaits them aft arrival. Ismail, 25, told AFP helium near his enactment astatine a food marketplace successful Malaysia amid arrests and rising hostility towards Rohingya. Now jobless successful Yangon, helium relies connected relatives and inactive lacks afloat citizenship. “We are the astir discriminated people,” helium said. In Rakhine, a Rohingya activistic identified arsenic Mohammad feared returnees could beryllium sent to displacement camps successful a portion inactive affected by warring and disease.

The returns travel increasing unit connected Rohingya successful Malaysia. In July, authorities detained much than 100 radical who gathered extracurricular UNHCR’s bureau successful Kuala Lumpur aft facing eviction from an informal colony successful Penang. They were aboriginal released erstwhile officials confirmed they held UN documents, AFP reported. Malaysia is not a enactment to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise exile status.

A Rohingya exile campy successful Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [File: Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]

Anwar has said helium intends to invitation Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the subject during the 2017 crackdown, to Malaysia to assistance accelerate the returns.