Bangladesh Rejects Myanmar’s ‘Wrong and Misleading’ Rohingya Figures

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry rejects Myanmar's latest claims on Rohingya numbers as 'wrong and misleading,' urging verification based on UN registration and rejection of the 'Bengali' label

Desk Report

Aug 19, 2026, 05:39 AM2 min read

Bangladesh Rejects Myanmar’s ‘Wrong and Misleading’ Rohingya Figures

Rohingya refugees walk toward the Balukhali refugee camp after crossing into Bangladesh’s Ukhia district on November 2017 / Collected

Bangladesh has rejected several claims made in Myanmar’s latest statement on the Rohingya crisis, describing the figures provided on the number of forcibly displaced Rohingya as “wrong and misleading.”

The position was conveyed on Tuesday (Aug. 18) during a meeting between Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh U Kyaw Soe Moe and Mohammad Taufiq-ur-Rahman, director general of the Myanmar wing at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Referring to a statement issued by Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry on Aug. 15, Taufiq-ur-Rahman said several aspects of the statement were based on inaccurate statistics, particularly its figures concerning displaced Rohingya.

MOFA Bangladesh staatement on Rohingya figures / Collected

He said the number of Rohingya registered under the United Nations system should serve as the basis for an accurate count. He also urged Myanmar to expedite the verification of displaced Rohingya in accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries.

Bangladesh also stressed that the verification process should include children born in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, as well as Rohingya who fled Rakhine State for Bangladesh after 2017.

Taufiq-ur-Rahman said Bangladesh is currently registering newly arrived Rohingya. Information on those outside the existing list of 828,824 registered Rohingya will be handed over to Myanmar authorities in due course.

He urged Myanmar to ensure that the additional information is properly incorporated into the verification process.

Bangladesh also rejected Myanmar’s characterization of the Rohingya as “Bengalis.” Taufiq-ur-Rahman said the Rohingya have their own ethnic identity and noted that Myanmar authorities had acknowledged the identity until recent years.

Ambassador U Kyaw Soe Moe assured Bangladesh that he would convey its concerns and observations to his government. He also reiterated Myanmar’s commitment to accelerating the identification process with a view to beginning the repatriation of verified Rohingya.

Bangladesh reiterated that the only sustainable solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis is the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the refugees to their homeland in Rakhine State.

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