Thai troops repatriate 30 families of Karen refugee
The Nation 5 February 2010
Tak - A Thai paramilitary trooper taskforce here Friday repatriated 30 families of ethnic Karen refugees to Burma amid concerns of their safety.
Col Noppadol Watcharajitborworn, commander of the Paramilitary Trooper Taskforce 35 in Maesot district, instructed his subordinates to send back the Karen families to a Burmese village opposite from Nong Bua village in Thasong Yang district Friday morning.
Noppadol claimed the families volunteered to go back to their homes on the Burmese soil and the Thai troops simply assisted them.
But the Thailand Burma Border Consortium has earlier asked the Thai authorities to halt repatriations for fear that the repatriated refugees could be killed by landmines and famine.
The Nation