Myanmar's military regime has approved visas for more than 1,500 international aid workers to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, with half of them involved in relief operations in storm-hit regions, the state-media said Tuesday.
Foreign aid staffers were initially barred from cyclone-affected areas and the ruling junta was criticized for its sluggish response to the May 2-3 disaster, which killed 84,500 people and left nearly 54,000 missing.
During a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late May, the government agreed to allow foreign aid workers into the Irrawaddy delta, though it placed restrictions on their movements. The ruling junta also formed a group made up of the government, United Nations and Southeast Asian countries to monitor and facilitate the flow of international assistance.
