GENEVA — The UN voiced worry Tuesday over Malaysia's decision to send 1,500 Myanmar nationals back to the war-torn country, stressing that conditions there "do not permit safe, dignified and sustainable returns".

 

"We are concerned by the reported imminent return of some 1,500 individuals from Myanmar to that country," United Nations refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva, insisting that "under international law, no one should be sent to a country where they may face persecution, torture, serious harm, or other threats to life, liberty, and security".

 

Malaysia began sending back around 1,500 Myanmar nationals Tuesday, the government confirmed.

 

The batch is the first of 5,000 Myanmar citizens Kuala Lumpur says agreed to "voluntary" repatriation from detention centres amidst a huge uptick in anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia.

 

Neither Malaysia nor Myanmar have officially clarified the number of Rohingya in the first group, and there is worry they may be returned to a country where they face persecution rights groups say amounts to genocide.

 

On Tuesday afternoon, AFP reporters saw three ships belonging to the Myanmar navy departing from Malaysia's Lumut naval base around 5pm local time (0900 GMT).

 

This included the auxiliary support and hospital ship Than Lwin and the amphibious landing platform ship Moattama, which had been used in a previous repatriation exercise.

 

Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry in a statement confirmed that the repatriations were underway.

 

"Today, 1,476 individuals have commenced Phase One of the repatriation program, based on a list submitted by the Myanmar Government via an official Diplomatic Note," it said in a statement.

 

It added that the repatriation was part of the government's plan to resolve the "legacy issue" of foreign asylum-seekers in Malaysia -- of which it said 95 percent were from Myanmar.

 

"This long-standing issue has imposed a significant financial burden on the nation, triggered serious social crises, and created tangible security threats for the Malaysian people," the statement said.

 

But in Geneva, United Nations refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters "we are concerned by the reported imminent return of some 1,500 individuals from Myanmar to that country".

 

"Under international law no one should be sent to a country where they may face persecution, torture, serious harm, or other threats to life, liberty, and security," he said.

 

Earlier Tuesday dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia, AFP correspondents saw, where the migrants were processed.

 

A Myanmar security source, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media, said the boats are due to dock at Thanlyin Navy Base just south of Yangon around the end of this week.

 

Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority, make up two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, according to the United Nations.

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the Rohingya.

 

The plan was announced after authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency's office in Kuala Lumpur.

 

They were seeking help after being threatened with eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state.

 

They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documentation.

 

Myanmar earlier this month pledged "safe and dignified" returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after criticism from the United Nations and rights groups.