12 Bangladeshis killed in Middle East war: Expatriates' welfare minister

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury has said that 12 Bangladeshis have so far died in the recent Middle East war.

Responding to a question from Nilufar Chowdhury Moni MP during the question-and-answer session at the parliament today, the minister said five of the deceased were in Lebanon, three in Saudi Arabia, two in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Iraq and Bahrain.

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Of the 12, one was buried in the respective country, while the bodies of nine were repatriated to Bangladesh. Their families received Tk 35,000 at the airport to cover burial expenses, along with Tk 50,000 in special financial assistance.

The minister also said that amid the Middle East conflict, the Wage Earners' Welfare Board financed the repatriation of 186 people from Iran, including 12 women and eight children. He noted that expatriate workers are often brought back from different countries during natural disasters and war situations.

Replying to a question from Lalmonirhat-1 MP Hasan Rajib Pradhan, Ariful said 30 Bangladeshi workers travelled to Russia on April 24 after obtaining manpower clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) through recruiting agencies.

He said that, following a letter received by the ministry stating that preparations were underway to forcibly send the workers into the war after their arrival in Russia, the ministry wrote to the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow on June 15, requesting it to take necessary steps to rescue the workers and facilitate their return to Bangladesh.

"According to the latest information, four Bangladeshis out of the said 30 have died. I hope that it will be possible to bring the mentioned workers back to the country through communication with Russia," he said.

In response to a question from Meherpur-2 MP Nazmul Huda, the minister said bilateral talks were held in April with senior Malaysian representatives on worker recruitment. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also recently visited Malaysia, while a Malaysian delegation is scheduled to visit Bangladesh in July. He expressed hope that the process of sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia would soon be facilitated.

Answering a question from Chandpur-4 MP Abdul Hannan, the minister said the government has taken initiatives to open Malaysia's labour market and expand employment opportunities in Thailand, South Korea and Japan in view of instability in the Middle East.

He added that a final draft agreement on worker recruitment has already been sent to the Thai government. Bangladeshi embassies abroad have also been instructed to assess local labour demand and submit specific action plans to increase manpower exports.

Responding to a question from Kushtia-2 MP Abdul Gafur, the minister said BMET server data showed that 10.91 million Bangladeshis had gone to Middle Eastern countries for employment between 2004 and June 30, 2026. However, many have since returned, making it impossible to determine the exact number of Bangladeshis currently employed there.

To address this, he said, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between BMET and the police Special Branch (SB) to facilitate the exchange of information on returning migrant workers.