The UN and the Bangladesh government have started formally registering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar. The move could help their eventual return, according to officials. More than 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya have escaped Buddhist-majority Myanmar since last August. Attacks by Muslim insurgents triggered a military offensive that the UN has likened to ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies the accusations, saying it waged a legitimate counter-insurgency operation. The registration program started jointly by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Bangladesh government this week is aimed at creating a reliable database of refugees living in camps on Bangladesh’s southern coast, Reuters said.