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UTAPAO - A US military plane loaded with aid for Myanmar took off for the cyclone-ravaged nation on Monday, an AFP reporter in neighbouring Thailand said.
The C-130 transport plane was carrying more than 12 tonnes of water treatment units, mosquito nets and blankets for victims of the cyclone that pummelled the nation 10 days ago, said US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Powell.
Fast Facts
It is the first US aid flight that Myanmar's military government has allowed to enter the country since the cyclone, which left around 62,000 dead or missing, according to Myanmar's official toll.
The United States is one of the fiercest critics of Myanmar's government, which Washington accuses of widespread rights abuses and of failing to make good on promised democratic reforms.
But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted last week that the delivery of cyclone aid is "not a matter of politics." - AFP/vm
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