Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar protested yesterday, demanding to be repatriated to Myanmar, so that they could leave the squalid camps they have lived in since fleeing a brutal military crackdown in their homeland in 2017.

More than a million Rohingyas have been crammed into the camps in southeastern Bangladesh, the world's largest refugee settlement. Most fled the crackdown by Myanmar's military almost six years ago, although some have been there for longer.

During yesterday's demonstrations across the sprawling camps, refugees, young and old, waved placards and chanted slogans.

"No more refugee life. No verification. No scrutiny. No interview. We want quick repatriation through UNHCR data card. We want to go back to our motherland," the placards read.

Rohingya community leader Mohammad Jashim said he was keen to return to Myanmar but wanted his citizenship rights guaranteed.

"We are the citizens of Myanmar by birth. We want to go back home with all our rights, including citizenship, free movement, livelihood, safety, and security," he told Reuters, saying the refugees hoped for United Nations' help in this regard.

Myanmar's military had until recently shown little inclination to take back any Rohingya people, who have for years been regarded as foreign interlopers in Myanmar and denied citizenship and subjected to abuse.

Attempts to begin repatriation in 2018 and 2019 failed as the refugees, fearing prosecution, refused to go back.

Densely populated Bangladesh says refugees' repatriation to Myanmar is the only solution to the crisis.

International aid agencies' funding for the refugees has dwindled. The World Food Programme recently cut the monthly food allocation to $8 per person from $10 earlier.