Malaysia began on Tuesday deporting about 1,500 Myanmar nationals under a repatriation program, the first phase of a plan that could reach 5,000 people, according to Reuters.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said current conditions do not support a safe and sustainable return and that it was not involved in identifying those returned, while Malaysiaʼs Interior Ministry said the measure covers 1,476 nationals identified by the government of Myanmar.