KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysias government will repatriate 1,200 Myanmar migrants next week despite a military coup in their home country, but has assured that they will not include minority Muslim Rohingya refugees or those registered with the U.N. refugee agency.

But the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees voiced concern Tuesday that there may be vulnerable women and children among the group. Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained as the military seized power on Feb. 1, sparking protests in the country.

Malaysias immigration chief, Khairul Dzaimee Daud, said in a statement late Monday that the detainees will be deported Feb. 23 on Myanmar navy ships.
He said the 1,200 were held for offenses including not having valid travel documents, overstaying and violating their social visit passes.
There are no UNHCR cardholders or ethnic Rohingya involved in the repatriation. It is just part of a usual program to deport immigrants in our detention depots, Khairul Dzaimee said.

The department said Malaysia repatriated 37,038 migrants last year, including 3,322 from Myanmar. This was down from 59,114 in 2019, as many countries shut their borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.