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The 58 displaced Karens had been residing at the Mae Ra Maluang refugee camp in Mae Hong Son's Mae Sareing district since March. They had fled fighting in northern region of Burma's Karen State.

According to the source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Thai troops from Mae Sareang Unit 105 came at about 07:00 hrs Thursday morning to remove the displaced refugees and took them to a boat dock where three long-tail boats awaits for them.

The exact location as to where they 58 displaced Karens were being taken was not disclosed for fear that the Burmese soldiers would retaliated but The Nation was informed that the boat trip was about five hours long.

"Besides the fact that the area has been raining heavily, we are concern for their safety as fighting between the KNU and the Burmese troops in the area in question have yet to cease," said the source. "The decision to force them back appeared to have been made hastily," he added.

Mae Ra Maluang refugee camp is the home for more than 16,000 Karen refugees who had been residing there for decades after fleeing Karen State because of the fighting there.

Thai Army policy is to prevent the number of displaced Karens and other ethnic nationalities from Burma from increasing, thus, the forced repatriation today.

More than 140,000 refugees from Burma are residing in various camps that dotted the northern border. It has been estimated by various sources that more than 500,000 people have been displaced internally inside Burma due to fighting between government troops and rebel forces fighting for self-rule.