1,500 Myanmar Nationals Deported from Malaysia Aboard Junta Warships Amid Airstrike Horror

LUMUT, Malaysia — Malaysia began repatriating approximately 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday, September 29, launching the first phase of a controversial return programme that rights groups warn may endanger migrants by sending them back to a war-torn homeland.

The group is the first of 5,000 Myanmar nationals Malaysia says have agreed to "voluntary" repatriation from immigration detention centres. They are drawn from more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals held in Malaysia's immigration detention depots.

Dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia, AFP correspondents reported. Reporters were not allowed inside the grounds. Those on board were processed before being transported to the nearby naval base and taken to Myanmar by ship.

The deportees are being sent back aboard two Myanmar navy warships and one hospital ship , vessels belonging to the same military they fled.

Airstrike Kills 49 Civilians One Day Before Deportations

The returns began just one day after a Myanmar military fighter jet dropped two bombs near a market in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine State on September 28, killing vendors, shoppers and pedestrians. The Arakan Army, which controls the town, said 49 people were killed and 58 wounded, 22 of them critically, and warned the toll could rise. The military has not commented on the strike.

Rohingya Among Those Deported

It was not immediately clear how many in the group were Rohingya, and Malaysian authorities did not divulge the number. However, the persecuted Muslim minority makes up two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in the country, 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, in a rare repatriation push that has prompted concern from rights groups. The repatriation plan was announced after authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency's office in Kuala Lumpur. The refugees were seeking help after being threatened with eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state.

Nobody Chooses Freely from Inside a Detention Center

The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) called on Malaysia to immediately halt the programme and suspend further returns until conditions allow safe and voluntary movement.

"Nobody chooses freely from inside a detention center," said Charles Santiago, former Member of Parliament for Klang, Malaysia, and Co-Chairperson of APHR. "When the only alternative is indefinite detention, 'voluntary' return is coercion in a different name".

APHR also pointed out that those repatriated in this way will face the risk of being forced into military service under the military's conscription law, and that they are not returning voluntarily from the detention centers but are merely being pressured.

UN: Return "Impossible" Under Current Conditions

The UN refugee agency has said it has no role in the programme, and that ongoing armed conflict and violence across Myanmar make safe, dignified and sustainable return impossible. It has urged that the protection needs of everyone concerned be assessed before any transfer, noting that customary international law binds all states not to send people to places where their rights are at risk.

The principle of non-refoulement , a binding norm of customary international law — prohibits returning people to places where they face a real risk of persecution or serious harm. It binds Malaysia regardless of whether Malaysia is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status. As of February, the country hosted around 193,800 refugees from Myanmar of various ethnicities, including Rohingya and Chin, according to UN refugee agency data. Activists say many more remain unregistered.

Forced Conscription: A Death Sentence

Those being returned also face the junta's conscription drive, which APHR says has pressed as many as 120,000 people into military service. Myanmar's military authorities activated the People's Military Service Law, giving them a legal basis to conscript men and women of eligible age into a conflict the military has struggled to sustain. This includes examples of forced recruitment either following detention or deportation from neighbouring countries.

The conscription law, enforced on February 10, 2024, requires a minimum of two years of service for males aged 18 to 35 and females aged 18 to 27. Reports indicate that only 12 percent of conscripts return home after two-year military service ends, suggesting that many were either forced to remain in service or were killed in combat across the country.

AARA Calls for Immediate Halt to Deportations

Action Against Rohingya Atrocities (AARA) condemns in the strongest terms the Malaysian government's decision to proceed with these deportations. We call on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to immediately halt the deportation of Myanmar nationals and to uphold the principle of non-refoulement while the military continues its brutal attacks on civilians.

We echo the calls of over 160 civil society groups that issued a joint statement last week urging the Malaysian government to "immediately halt the deportations," pending talks with civil organisations about the situation on the ground in Myanmar.

The international community must not stand idly by as Rohingya and other Myanmar nationals are sent back to face persecution, forced conscription, and death. We urge the Malaysian government to reconsider this inhumane policy and to provide protection for those seeking refuge within its borders.

AARA is committed to systematically collecting, verifying, and preserving evidence and testimonies related to atrocities against the Rohingya people, advocating for justice and amplifying survivors' voices on the global stage. We will continue to document these deportations and hold accountable those responsible for the suffering inflicted upon our people.