Bhutanese refugees at the Khudanbari refugee camp in Jhapa called off a three-month relay hunger strike Thursday until the 14th ministerial meeting between Nepal and Bhutan to decide the fate of the displaced persons in the camp, refugee leaders said.

The refugees launched the strike to press for repatriation following joint verification in 2001; they demanded the verification of refugees in six other refugee camps in Jhapa and Morang.

Nepali Foreign Minister Narendra Bikram Shah said repatriation of the refugees will begin after the 14th ministerial meeting in Kathmandu in May following official talks with his Bhutanese counterpart in Thimpu earlier this month.

The ministers met after officials jointly verified the status of most of the refugees in Khudanbari without divulging details; officials are continuing the verification to give final touches to a report to form the basis for repatriation.