New storm deepens misery in cyclone-hit Myanmar
- added May 16, 2008
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- Burma Cyclone (87)
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Torrential tropical downpours lashed Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Friday, deepening the misery of an estimated 2.5 million destitute survivors of Cyclone Nargis and further hampering the military government's aid efforts.
Despite the latest storm, which is likely to turn already damaged roads to mud in the swamp-covered region, the former Burma's ruling generals insist their relief operations are running smoothly.
However, they issued an edict in state-run newspapers on Friday saying legal action would be taken against anybody found hoarding or selling relief supplies, amid rumors of local military units expropriating trucks of food, blankets and water.
If emergency supplies do not get through in much greater quantities, foreign governments and aid groups say starvation and disease are very real threats.
The European Union's top aid official met ministers in Yangon on Thursday and urged them to admit foreign aid workers and essential equipment to prevent the death toll, which the Red Cross says could be as high as 128,000, from going any higher.
The trip, like so many others before it, yielded no results.
"Relations between Myanmar and the international community are difficult," Louis Michel told Reuters. "But that is not my problem. The time is not for political discussion. It's time to deliver aid to save lives."
Despite the latest storm, which is likely to turn already damaged roads to mud in the swamp-covered region, the former Burma's ruling generals insist their relief operations are running smoothly.
However, they issued an edict in state-run newspapers on Friday saying legal action would be taken against anybody found hoarding or selling relief supplies, amid rumors of local military units expropriating trucks of food, blankets and water.
If emergency supplies do not get through in much greater quantities, foreign governments and aid groups say starvation and disease are very real threats.
The European Union's top aid official met ministers in Yangon on Thursday and urged them to admit foreign aid workers and essential equipment to prevent the death toll, which the Red Cross says could be as high as 128,000, from going any higher.
The trip, like so many others before it, yielded no results.
"Relations between Myanmar and the international community are difficult," Louis Michel told Reuters. "But that is not my problem. The time is not for political discussion. It's time to deliver aid to save lives."
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