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October 12, 2008 4:01:41 PM CDT

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Junta Closing Cyclone Shelters

Posted May 30, 08 12:16 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – The Burmese junta has reportedly begun closing shelters and telling cyclone victims to return to their decimated villages, a move that drew strong condemnation from a UN official, the BBC reports. Military leaders, apparently worried that the camps will become permanent aid centers, have given victims tents and bamboo poles and told them to rebuild their lives, says a UNICEF official.

"People need to be assisted in the settlements and satisfactory conditions need to be created before they can return to their place of origins," said Terje Skavdal of the UN Humanitarian Affairs office. "Any forced or coerced movement of people is completely unacceptable." The cyclone has left 2.4 million people homeless.

Source BBC

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A man looks out at damaged roof sections being used to gather storm water into large jugs in Pyinmagon village on an island in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, Thursday, May 29, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Myanmar soldiers march during Armed Forces Day ceremonies on March 27, 2007, in the new capital city of Naypyitaw.   (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
People line up outside an aid tent in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, May 29, 2008 awaiting medical treatment.   (AP Photo)
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Burma  • Myanmar  • natural disaster  • Cyclone Nargis  • junta  • military junta  • homeless  • shelter


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