3,000 ethnic Karen refugees who were forced to flee into Thailand in June 2009 are facing forced return to Burma starting on February 5th 2010. Although the Royal Thai Government and local and military representatives have officially stated that they will not force people to return, in practice they are applying significant pressure on the refugees to return. They have been kept in squalid conditions in two temporary camps, Nong Bua, (also called No Bu), and Mae U Su, in Tha Song Yang close to the Thailand-Burma border.