A leader of the Acehnese refugee community has alleged that police had used unnecessarily harsh measures - including the torching of temporary homes - in a bid to round up both documented and undocumented foreigners in a raid on jungle settlements at Sepang today.

Mohammad Nurul Al-Khalil, representing 12 Acehnese communities in Malaysia, said that the massive raid this morning also saw police arresting more than 100 people including several who hold refugee status papers issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur.

"The temporary shelters at the settlement have been burnt down and Police Volunteer Force personnel have set-up camp there. More than a 100 Acehnese, Indonesians and Burmese-Chins have been arrested," Mohammad told malaysiakini .

When contacted, a UNHCR official said the agency had been informed of the 'large operation' this morning by local Burmese community leaders from the Chin ethnic group.

The international agency also confirmed that the foreigners' shelters had been torched as their officers saw the charred remains of the make-shift huts at the area. The official added that " ... some from the settlement fled" from the police dragnet by escaping deeper into the jungle.

"UNHCR is very concerned about this operation and we are trying to gather more information on whether persons under UNHCR protection have been arrested.

"We cannot confirm the numbers but we're told that those arrested are being screened at the Dengkil police station," added the official on behalf of Malaysian UNHCR chief, Volker Turk

Police mum

However when contacted, a police corporal at the Dengkil police station said that no foreigners had been brought to the station and that they could have been sent directly to the immigration detention centres for subsequent deportation.

An officer at the Sepang district police headquarters, when contacted, said he could not comment on the details of the operation. A more senior officer at the district headquarters could not be reached.

During raids on immigrant settlements, police often do not differentiate between illegal immigrants and asylum seekers leading to many genuine refugees being arrested despite them having been recognised by the UNHCR and accorded the agency's protection.

UNHCR's protection comes in the form of a temporary protection letters which prevent its holders from being deported or repatriated back to their countries of origin. However, as Malaysia has not ratified the United Nations' Refugee Convention of 1951, this in turn gives rise to the non-recognition of the UNHCR temporary protection papers by local enforcement agencies.