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UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday that the first voluntary returns of six refugee families returning to Myanmar from Thailand began earlier in the day, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.
There are currently more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees living in Thailand, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
"The new pilot programme is supported by the governments of both countries," he said. "While the initial numbers of people returning are modest, the Refugee Agency says the aim is to pave the way towards a process of returns that might eventually resolve one of Asia's longest-running refugee situations."
Earlier on Tuesday, a family of six refugees was travelling from the Tham Hin camp in Thailand's western province of Ratchaburi to Myanmar's Tanintharyi region, just across the border, UNHCR said, adding that several dozen more refugees are expected to leave from Nupo camp, further north in Tak province for destinations including in Yangon, Kayin and Bago states on Wednesday.
UNHCR has been providing refugees with information on the conditions at their return destinations. Its staff have also been counselling people to ensure that returns are properly based on informed decisions.
Repatriation transport is being coordinated between the two governments, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The World Food Programme (WFP) is providing cash assistance for three months of food support.
Further reintegration assistance will be provided by the Myanmar authorities, UNHCR and other agencies on the ground.
As the peace process continues in Myanmar, the hope is that this week's returns will help grow interest in repatriation among other refugees, the UN agency said.
Thailand is currently home to some 103,300 Myanmar refugees, living in nine camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border and mainly of Karen, Karenni, Burmese and Mon ethnicity. Refugees first arrived there in the early 1980s after fleeing ethnic conflict in southeastern Myanmar, making this one of Asia's most protracted refugee situations.
