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UN halts Burma aid after seizure
The World Food Programme has halted aid shipments to Burma after two plane-loads of food were impounded on arrival by the military authorities.
The UN body says the Burmese government seized tonnes of aid material flown in to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands.
The WFP said it had no choice but to halt aid until the matter was resolved.
Burma's ruling generals have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the crisis.
The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the cyclone, with tens of thousands made homeless and vulnerable to disease.
Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed, but there are fears the figure could rise.
Britain's Ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, said authoritative sources were now speaking of between 63,000 and 100,000 people dead or missing.
Hundreds of thousands of people have no food, water or shelter. International aid agencies on the ground say seven tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been distributed in the delta region, but they have reached only 10% of those that need help.
Despite this, Burma's foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday saying it was not ready to allow foreign aid workers to enter the country.
The junta said it was happy to accept aid, but insisted it would control the distribution itself.
'Murdering own people'
WFP spokesman Paul Risley said two flights of "critically-needed food aid" - including 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits - arrived in Burma on Friday but was confiscated.
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The WFP said it had no choice but to halt aid until the matter was resolved.
Burma's ruling generals have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the crisis.
The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the cyclone, with tens of thousands made homeless and vulnerable to disease.
Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed, but there are fears the figure could rise.
Britain's Ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, said authoritative sources were now speaking of between 63,000 and 100,000 people dead or missing.
Hundreds of thousands of people have no food, water or shelter. International aid agencies on the ground say seven tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been distributed in the delta region, but they have reached only 10% of those that need help.
Despite this, Burma's foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday saying it was not ready to allow foreign aid workers to enter the country.
The junta said it was happy to accept aid, but insisted it would control the distribution itself.
'Murdering own people'
WFP spokesman Paul Risley said two flights of "critically-needed food aid" - including 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits - arrived in Burma on Friday but was confiscated.
More
For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/73...
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“All the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated,” said Paul Risley, World Food Program in Bangkok.
The program said it would send in two relief flights as planned on Saturday, while negotiations continued with the government about the distribution of supplies. Pentagon officials say they have assembled a considerable number of ships, helicopters, transport airplanes and marines in the region to assist in cyclone relief. But by mid-day Friday, the junta had given the go-ahead for one American airplane with relief supplies to land on its territory, according to a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe diplomatic contacts between the two nations.
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