About 68 Myanmar refugees are being repatriated from camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border after they were displaced by clashes. This is reported to be the first such voluntary repatriation and is said to be taking place over two days.
For tens of thousands of refugees living in a total of nine camps along Thailand’s border with Myanmar a return home has been a dream made impossible because of political and economic uncertainty in Myanmar.
The return of the refugees is the first to receive endorsement from the Thai and Myanmar governments.
The Myanmar government came over and issued certificates of identification.
There are around 103,000 refugees and internally displaced people living in the nine camps along the border.
Some residents have been living in the camps for 30 years. Nearly 80 percent are ethnic Karen from eastern Myanmar who fled armed conflict and often persecution at the hands of the Myanmar army during decades of military rule.