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WASHINGTON - The White House said Monday it was extending an extra 13 million dollars in aid for cyclone-hit Myanmar as the first US flight of emergency supplies landed in the country.
"We are prepared to provide an additional 13 million dollars in food and logistical assistance to the United Nations World Food Program for the relief operations in Burma," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
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The extra money includes 12 million dollars for food supplies "that will arrive in the coming weeks" and takes the US total for Myanmar so far to 16.25 million, she said.
Perino noted that the United States was sending two more relief flights into Myanmar on Tuesday, as announced by US aid officials in Bangkok, hours after the first US C-130 military transporter landed with emergency supplies.
"But we hope this is just the beginning of what will be much needed assistance that we are happy to provide and so we hope that this gets to the people as quickly as possible," the spokeswoman said.
The US C-130, laden with emergency supplies including equipment to provide clean drinking water, was permitted to land by Myanmar's government, which has been condemned for stalling the disaster response.
The flow of international aid into Myanmar, which says 62,000 people are dead or missing, has increased in the past two days, but relief agencies say much more is needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. - AFP/ir
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