South Africa said it repatriated 23 of its citizens on Thursday rescued from online scam centres in Myanmar that allegedly hold thousands of people from several countries.

Cyberscam operations that have thrived in Myanmar's lawless border areas for years allegedly lure thousands of foreign workers with promises of high-paid jobs but then force them to commit online fraud.

"Twenty-three South Africans were rescued from Myanmar" and returned on Thursday, the Department of International Relations said in a statement.

They were among more than 7,000 workers from various countries freed in recent crackdowns by Myanmar on scam centres.

Lured 'under false pretences'

A Myanmar ethnic militia said last month it was preparing to deport 10,000 people linked to cyberscams in an area it controls to Thailand as part of a crackdown on the illicit compounds.

The South Africans were lured to Thailand "under false pretences by an employment agency that promised them lucrative jobs that were advertised on various social media platforms," the ministry said.

Once in Thailand, they were transported to Myanmar and held captive for over four months, subjected to torture and "compelled to engage in illicit activities, including online scams that targeted individuals worldwide", it said.

Several countries, including China and Indonesia, have in recent weeks repatriated hundreds of their nationals rescued from the compounds. But many remain trapped in squalid temporary holding camps on the border with Thailand.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 120,000 people – many of them Chinese men – may be working in Myanmar scam centres against their will.