Malaysia began sending back around 1,500 Myanmar nationals Tuesday, AFP journalists saw, launching a scheme rights groups say may endanger migrants by returning them to the war-torn country.
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.
But advocacy organisations say dire conditions in detention centres may have forced their decisions, and they could face dangerous homecomings in Myanmar where war has raged since 2021.
Neither Malaysia nor Myanmar have officially clarified the number of Rohingya in the first group, and there is concern they may be returned to a country where they face persecution rights groups say amounts to genocide.
Dozens of buses arrived under police escort on Tuesday at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia, AFP correspondents saw, where the migrants were to be processed.
They will then be transported to the nearby naval base and taken to Myanmar by ship.
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.
Marine traffic websites showed Myanmar's auxiliary support and hospital ship Than Lwin at anchor just outside the naval base.
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.
