Myanmar will be ready to take back refugees soon, source claims

Myanmar will soon be ready to take back over 100,000 refugees from nine shelters in Thailand, as the country moves towards democracy, an informed source claimed on 20 June. Details were revealed during the launch of a “World Refugee Day” event at Ban Umpiem Mai shelter in Phop Phra district in Tak province, which currently houses about 20,000 refugees. The source said a team from UNHCR had earlier visited the city of Hpa-An in Myanmar to negotiate with authorities there for repatriation of the refugees. (Courtesy of opendevelopmentmekong.net)