UN agency says Myanmar has suspended international aid deliveries to cyclone-hit areas

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A U.N. agency says Myanmar’s military government has rescinded its approval for international organizations to distribute food, shelter and medicines to thousands of residents in cyclone-hit areas in the country’s west. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the suspension of aid activities could not have come at worse time because of the arrival of the monsoon season. Cyclone Mocha hit the coastline of Bangladesh and Myanmar in mid-May. Myanmar state media said at least 148 people in Rakhine state were killed by the storm and more than 186,000 buildings were damaged in several areas. No reason was given for the suspension of aid distribution by international organizations.