'CLEANING CAMPS'
The U.N. has said conditions in Rakhine state, where government troops have been fighting an insurgency for months, are not conducive for the return of refugees.
The region has been enveloped in a new war, with government troops fighting Arakan Army insurgents, members of an ethnic armed group that recruits from the mostly Buddhist Rakhine, who make up the majority in the area.
A U.N. investigator said in July that human rights violations against civilians by security forces and insurgents may amount to fresh war crimes, citing reports of deaths during army interrogations.
Myanmar authorities have blocked most humanitarian agencies, including the U.N., from the area.
In July, an Australian think-tank said the government had made "minimal preparations" for the return of refugees.
An analysis of satellite imagery showed no signs of reconstruction in the overwhelming majority of former Rohingya settlements, while destruction of homes continued as recently as this year, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said.
Min Thein, a director at Myanmar's social welfare ministry, said officials had been sent to reinforce several centres built on the border with Bangladesh that have sat empty for months.
"We are preparing to be ready – cleaning the transit camps, reinforcing the staff levels," said Min Thein.
