Another 13 illegal immigrants from Aceh - detained outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Kuala Lumpur during police operations on Aug 19 and 26 - will be sent home tomorrow.

This will add to the 66 persons - most of them believed to be Acehnese - who have already been returned to Indonesia.

Perak immigration director Ishak Mohamed said "all have volunteered to return to Indonesia", having paid their own airfare from Ipoh to Medan.

On Aug 29, the UNHCR had said 167 people under detention had confirmed their intention to apply for asylum from the agency.

When contacted today, the UNHCR was unable to confirm the latest development.

Top guns due

On Wednesday, a high-level delegation from the UN agency's head office in Geneva is due in Kuala Lumpur to meet with Malaysian authorities.

They are expected to discuss the situation arising from police operations which effectively denied the agency here from doing its job of providing protection.

According to UN refugee eligibility co-ordinator Evan Ruth, the team will led by Asia and Pacific director Jean-Marie Fakhouri and director of international protection Erica Feller. Regional representative Robert Ashe, who is based in Jakarta, will join them.

Earlier this week, UNHCR head Ruud Lubbers had voiced concern over the second police operation on Aug 26, which he said ran counter to assurances given by Malaysian authorities that the Acehnese would not be sent back to their conflict-ridden home province..

The Malaysia government has stated that it does not recognise the status of refugees as it is not signatory to the UN refugee convention, dismissing counter-claims that it is obliged to provide protection for refugees under what has become customary international law.

Authorities claim that providing temporary protection or recognition to conflict-fleeing Acehnese would only encourage more people to enter the country illegally, thus creating strains on society and the economy.

Malaysia has also come under pressure from Jakarta to show its clear stance in supporting Indonesia's territorial integrity.

According to the Indonesian officials, this amounts to ejecting all Acehnese asylum-seekers from the country, in order to prove Malaysia does not support armed separatist elements from Aceh.