A group of Muslims who fled China after deadly ethnic rioting and sought asylum in Cambodia will be deported, most likely back home, government spokesmen said Saturday.
The 20 Uighurs were being expelled because it was determined they entered the country illegally, Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said. He said two other Uighurs have gone missing.
The United States and United Nations urged Cambodia to stop the deportation. A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency said it had not finished evaluating the Uighurs, including two children, for refugee status.
Cambodia has been under intense pressure from China, which has called the ethnic Uighurs criminals after they fled the country with the help of a secret network of missionaries.
The expulsion comes as Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits Cambodia on Sunday as part of a four-country tour.
Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said the Uighurs would be expelled this week.
"I can't say where they will be sent, but I assume their final destination will be China, where they come from," he said.
Some countries have refused to send Uighurs - such as ones released from US detention at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - back to China over concerns about retribution and abuse.
The Uighurs had been in joint custody of the U.N. refugee agency and Cambodian authorities. Khieu Sopheak said they were now under the "sole protection" of the Cambodian government.
Uighur exile groups said daily telephone contact with the Uighurs had been lost.
An evaluation of the Uighurs for possible refugee status had not yet been completed, said Kitty McKinsey, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok.
"Last night, UNHCR conveyed a message to the Cambodian government asking them to refrain from deporting them and offering our assistance to the Cambodian government to deal with the cases," she said.
The United States urged Cambodia not to send the Uighurs back to China.
"We are deeply disturbed by the reports that the Cambodian government might forcibly return this group of Uighurs without the benefit of a credible refugee status determination process," said US Embassy spokesman John Johnson in Phnom Penh.
"We strongly urge the Cambodian government to honor its commitment under international law."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said last week the Uighurs were "involved in crimes." She did not elaborate.
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
Overseas Uighur groups say Uighurs have been rounded up in mass detentions since the ethnic rioting in July. The Chinese government says nearly 200 people, mostly majority Han Chinese, died in the violence.
China has handed down at least 17 death sentences over the rioting.
Wang Lixiong, a China-based writer on Uighur and Tibetan issues, said the deportation reflected China's powerful influence in the region. China says it is the top foreign investor in Cambodia.
"When I learned the Uighurs landed in Cambodia, I was pessimistic because Cambodia is a small country that will not be able to stand against China's pressure," said Wang. "In reality, all countries bow to China's power. There is no sense of justice left in the international community."
AP