UN warns continued violence in Burma prevents Rohingya refugees’ return

 

UN investigator says attacks on civilians and suspected international crimes in Rakhine State threaten prospects for safe return of Rohingya Muslims

Muslim Network TV—October 13, 2026 

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DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Continued violence against civilians in Burma’s western Rakhine State is preventing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from returning to their homeland, a senior United Nations investigator warned Monday, as fresh fighting and attacks force more members of the persecuted minority to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), said his team was investigating allegations of serious international crimes committed by different armed groups in Rakhine, where Rohingya communities face violence, displacement and restrictions on their fundamental rights.

The warning came as Koumjian concluded a six-day visit to Bangladesh, during which he met Rohingya refugees who had recently escaped violence in Burma and gathered testimony about abuses against civilians.

“The Mechanism is investigating allegations of very serious international crimes currently being committed in Rakhine State by perpetrators of various ethnicities, religions, and political affiliations,” Koumjian said in a statement.

He said survivors’ accounts would play an important role in efforts to establish responsibility for atrocities committed during the ongoing conflict.

“Many Rohingya shared their recent, traumatic experiences that drove them to seek refuge in Bangladesh, and these testimonies are crucial for advancing our investigations,” he added.

More than 154,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since the beginning of 2024, according to UN figures, following renewed fighting between Burma’s military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group that has also faced accusations of persecuting Rohingya Muslims.

The Arakan Army, which has expanded its control across much of Rakhine State, has been accused of discrimination, forced displacement and other abuses against Rohingya communities. The group is fighting Burma’s military, which seized power in a February 2021 coup.

The worsening humanitarian situation was highlighted by an airstrike on a market in Rakhine approximately two weeks before Koumjian’s statement. The attack killed at least 50 people and injured 58 others, according to UN figures.

The Arakan Army blamed the Burmese military for the strike, which occurred in an area inhabited by Rohingya civilians.

Koumjian urged an end to attacks against civilians and stressed that accountability for international crimes was essential to creating conditions for the safe return of displaced Rohingya.

The latest displacement comes nearly a decade after Burma’s military launched a brutal campaign against Rohingya Muslims in August 2017, forcing more than 720,000 people to escape into Bangladesh amid widespread killings, sexual violence and the destruction of villages.

More than 1.2 million Rohingya now live in overcrowded refugee settlements in Bangladesh’s southeastern Cox’s Bazar district, making it one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting areas.

Established in 2018, the UN investigative mechanism collects, preserves and analyzes evidence of serious international crimes committed in Burma.

Its findings have supported proceedings before the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and national courts pursuing cases under universal jurisdiction.

Despite years of international investigations and repeated calls for accountability, conditions in Rakhine remain unsafe for large-scale Rohingya repatriation, leaving the displaced Muslim population facing an uncertain future.