Nearly 1,500 migrants arrive in Myanmar from Malaysia despite UN warnings

Nearly 1,500 people deported from Malaysia reached southern Yangon early Sunday after being returned on two navy warships and a hospital ship, Myanmar regional minister Nay Lin Tun said. The government reported 1,479 arrivals as part of a staged repatriation plan that Malaysia says will total about 5,000 people. Malaysia says all those sent back agreed to return voluntarily, but the United Nations refugee agency and human rights organisations have questioned whether consent was genuinely free. UNHCR staff said they were not allowed to meet the Myanmar nationals to verify decisions to repatriate. Advocacy groups have warned that many refugees faced limited options in Malaysia amid intensified immigration enforcement. The deportation wave follows large-scale immigration raids in Malaysia that rights groups say targeted refugee communities; Malaysian authorities reported detaining more than 50,000 refugees in 2026. Malaysia’s Home Ministry says over 10,300 Myanmar nationals remain in immigration detention centres. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriation effort in July, citing social, financial and security burdens posed by the refugee population. Rohingya people form the majority of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, though it is not clear how many Rohingya were among the latest group returned. Malaysia hosts roughly 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya. Rights groups and UN agencies have warned that returnees could face persecution or forced conscription in Myanmar, which has been engulfed in civil war since the 2021 military takeover. Myanmar’s conflict has killed an estimated more than 100,000 people, according to ACLED data. Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, who became civilian president this year, is expected to visit Malaysia soon to discuss the repatriation programme.