Myanmar general visits cyclone survivors
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YANGON, MYANMAR — The leader of Myanmar’s military government made his first visit to a relief camp since Cyclone Nargis, patting heads of babies and shaking hands of survivors, amid growing international criticism over his government’s handling of the crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he would go to the disaster zone Wednesday to try to improve aid efforts in the country, also known as Burma.
State television featured Senior Gen. Than Shwe inspecting supplies and comforting victims in relatively clean and neat rows of blue tents.
According to the report, Than Shwe traveled to relief camps in the Hlaing Thar Yar and Dagon suburbs of Yangon.
At least 78,000 people were killed in the May 2-3 storm and 56,000 are missing.
Aid agencies say about 2.5 million are in desperate need of food, shelter, medicine, clean drinking water and sanitation.
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