Refugees from Bhutan ask for US intervention

American officials in Nepal have warned that conditions for one-hundred-thousand refugees from Bhutan could seriously deteriorate.

The warning came after a visit to several refugee camps by the American ambassador, Ralph Frank.

The officials say the refugees, who are of Nepali origin, are in good health and are well fed and educated but that international support for them cannot continue indefinitely.

The Bhutanese authorities deny that all the refugees are from Bhutan, but the refugees have asked the US to lobby for their return to Bhutan.

US officials say that a quick resolution to the problem is unlikely.

They say that India holds the key to a solution, as one of the few countries that can exert pressure on Bhutan.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service