The Myanmar junta is continuing to put pressure on internally displaced people (IDPs) in northern Rakhine (Arakan) state to go back to their homes according to residents of Buthidaung Township.

A Buthidaung resident said that In mid-October, officials from the junta administration summoned the officials of IDP camps in Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township and told them that the IDPs must return to their homes otherwise they would be treated as trespassers.

The junta administration has not made clear what action it wi8ll take against IDPs who decide not to go back home.

The resident said: "We don't dare to go back. I think the situation is still chaotic. Sometimes, fighting still breaks out.”

It is still not known why the authorities are forcing the IDPs to return home.

Since August this year there has been frequent fighting between the junta army and the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic armed organisation (EAO) in Rakhine State.

Currently, there are still more than 3,000 IDPs taking refuge in four IDP camps in Buthidaung Township.

Similarly, in early October the junta administration forced IDPs in Chin and Kayah States to go back to their homes by the end of October, according to local residents.