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Image copyright
Reuters
People were escorted from their apartment buildings and taken to waiting trucks.
Malaysian police said an operation to arrest hundreds of undocumented immigrants in Kuala Lumpur on Friday aimed to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
They were detained to make sure they did not move and spread the disease, police chief Abdul Hamid Bador told the state news agency.
The images show a large number of law enforcement officers wearing protective suits to carry out the arrests.
The raids took place in a part of the capital known to foreigners.
The United Nations has urged the Malaysian authorities to release children and vulnerable people from detention camps where migrants are located.
Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson tweeted that the arrests ran the risk of worsening the pandemic in Malaysia, both in terms of possible outbreaks within the camps and also by making undocumented people less likely to cooperate:
Images shared by Human Rights Watch and other organizations, but not verified by the BBC, apparently from the raids, show hundreds of people sitting on the ground nearby, surrounded by armed police.
Malaysia has seen just over 100 deaths from coronavirus, according to figures tracked by Johns Hopkins University.
The country remains under partial blockade.
Malaysia does not recognize refugees and there are high levels of mistrust towards those who come from abroad, often working as low-wage workers.
Image copyright
Reuters
Officers who participated in the raids wore protective suits
