In pictures: Hmong evictions in Thailand

Thousands of ethnic Hmong in northern Thailand have been evicted from their homes, as part of a government plan to encourage them to return to their native Laos.

Most of the estimated 6,000 refugees are thought to have arrived in Thailand within the last year.

Having been forced from their homes in the village of Huay Nam Khao, many are currently waiting near the border in Phetchabun province.

Local Thais can only watch. Since a new rule came into effect on Monday, Thai landowners face prison terms and hefty fines if they do not expel the Hmong from their land.

The Hmong do not want to return to Laos, because they fear persecution by the communist government because of their Vietnam War-era ties to the CIA in the United States.

According to Thai media reports, some have threatened to commit suicide if they are forcibly returned.

The Hmong refugees have appealed to the United Nations to treat them as political asylum seekers, and facilitate their repatriation elsewhere.

But Thailand sees them as illegal immigrants rather than asylum seekers. It also suspects that some Hmong are involved in rebel attacks in Laos, harming relations between the two neighbours.

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