WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said Thursday it had no reason to believe Hmong refugees rounded up in Thailand were being mistreated.
"There have been allegations of mistreatment," department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. "We have not found any basis for these reports."
Thai authorities rounded up some 1,500 Hmong from a refugee camp in the central part of the country Wednesday. The group had missed a U.S. deadline to register for settlement in the United States.
Some 15,000 Hmong are to be resettled in the country, mainly in Wisconsin; 1,700 have already arrived and another 6,000 are expected by the end of this fiscal year.
Human rights groups say they fear the Hmong will be repatriated to Laos where they may face persecution.
Hmong have lived in Thailand since the communist takeover of their country in 1975. They aided the CIA in fighting Laotian communists during the Vietnam war.
