UN investigator says about 1.3 million Rohingya cannot return home

COX'S BAZAR — Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said on 21 October 2026 that about 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh cannot return to their homes in Rakhine state because conditions are unsafe, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), which interviewed him.

Koumjian said the refugees, many of whom live in tents in Cox's Bazar, are waiting for a safe return. He described the camps as inadequate, saying many shelters are built on steep slopes that were once forest and are at risk of being swept away by tropical rains.

He said fighting in Myanmar is very intense, particularly outside the centre of the country, in border areas and in plains regions such as Sagaing. According to Koumjian, the Myanmar army has lost control of 14 of the country's 17 administrative regions, and civilians are often targeted in air strikes and artillery fire. He said attacks frequently hit schools, hospitals and places of worship.

Koumjian also said that anyone who opposes the military government can be arrested arbitrarily in areas under army control. He added that people who criticised the elections held late last year and early this year have been detained.

He said his mechanism has never been allowed to enter Myanmar. He said the figure of 1.3 million is drawn from people outside the country, and that it includes refugees who arrived in the 1990s as well as more than 150,000 new arrivals registered in Bangladesh since 2024.

Background

Rohingya Muslims are a Muslim minority from Rakhine state in Myanmar. According to the report, many have lived in Bangladesh for decades, and the source describes the camps as long-term settlements.

The source reports that Koumjian recently visited Bangladesh. It is not clear from the report how many refugees have registered with the authorities.