Blocked US Ships Will Abandon Myanmar Aid

Junta refuses aid 15 times
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 4, 2008 6:04 AM CDT
Blocked US Ships Will Abandon Myanmar Aid
Marines aboard the USS Essex, a helicopter landing ship, fill five gallon water bags Sunday, May 11, 2008, in preparation for possible distribution to victims of cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.    (AP Photo/US Navy, MC3 Gabriel S. Weber)

US warships laden with aid for Burmese cyclone survivors will sail out of the region tomorrow still carrying their loads, Reuters reports. Burma's military junta has refused 15 requests to allow American forces to deliver aid supplies to the disaster zone, according to the admiral in charge of the operation.

"I am both saddened and frustrated to know that we have been in a position to help ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people and help mitigate further loss of life, but have been unable to do so because of the unrelenting position of the Burma military junta," the admiral said. (More warship stories.)

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