Myanmar agrees to admit foreign aid staff

Canada News.Net
Friday 23rd May, 2008

Myanmar's military rulers have agreed to allow all foreign aid workers into the country.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has said the victims of Cyclone Nargis will soon be helped by formerly barred relief workers.

Mr Ban, who made the announcement following talks with junta leader General Than Shwe, hailed the decision as a breakthrough.

Up to now, Myanmar insisted its own relief services were sufficient to deal with the cyclone disaster.

Three weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit the country the official death toll stands at nearly 80,000 with some 50,000 others still missing.

An estimated 2.5 million survivors are in immediate need of food, water, shelter and medical care but few of them are thought to be receiving any relief aid.

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