by boat. Aid organisations and refugees have accused the Bangladeshi government of forcing some of the refugees to go. About 5,000 civilians in Rakhine State were forced to flee fighting between the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw from early December 2018 to mid-January 2019, per the United Nations. This number had swelled to more than 20,000 by the start of April 2019. About 10,000 were displaced from Minbya Township alone from late July to late August. According to statistics collected by a local NGO, the Rakhine Ethnic Congress, the number of IDPs displaced by fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army had reached 160,000 by January 2020. It was estimated that 40,000 people had been internally displaced in the last week of June amid reignited clashes. The OCHA estimated that 86,383 had been displaced as of 5 August. The Rakhine Ethnic Congress that the number of internally displaced people due to the fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army reached 234,915 by early November 2020, when the ceasefire between both sides took effect. More than 78,000 people fled resumed fighting between both sides in Rakhine and Chin states since March 2022 according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Repatriation Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali met with Myanmar officials on 2 October 2017, later stating after their meeting that both countries had agreed on a "joint working group" for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh. The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on 23 November 2017 regarding the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister stated that a joint working group composed of UNHCR and members of both nations was to be established within three weeks to fix the final terms for the beginning of the process. He also stated that those returning would be kept in temporary camps near their abandoned homes. Under the deal, Myanmar would ensure that they are not kept in the camps for long and are issued identity cards. The foreign secretaries of both nations met on 19 December to finalise the agreement. Bangladesh's foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the group would "ensure commencement of repatriation within two months" by developing a timetable for verification of identities and logistics. Bangladesh's foreign ministry announced on 15 January 2018 that their government and Myanmar's had bilaterally agreed on a repatriation