Myanmar’s junta has suspended travel authorizations for aid workers attempting to reach hundreds of thousands of people in cyclone-ravaged Rakhine state, according to the UN’s Office for humanitarian affairs.
Last month, Cyclone Mocha killed at least 148 people in Myanmar and Bangladesh with severe rain and 195 km/h gusts.
In Rakhine state, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya minority refugees reside in displacement camps due to decades of ethnic conflict, the cyclone devastated homes and triggered a storm surge.
This week, Junta authorities suspended “existing travel authorizations… for humanitarian organizations.” According to a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In addition, junta-approved plans to distribute aid to cyclone-affected municipalities were rescinded, the statement said.
It was stated that the restrictions would “halt activities that have reached hundreds of thousands of people.”
