Myanmar's junta leader visits cyclone refugees

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar, the country's reclusive junta leader Than Shwe visited a refugee camp outside Yangon, according to video broadcast on state television.

Surrounded by fellow junta members dressed in olive-green military suits, Shwe walked through streets talking with the people who lined up outside their neatly constructed tents.

The 75-year-old military ruler touched the cheeks of young survivors held by their mothers.

The junta leaders -- who traveled about 320 km (200 miles) south to Yangon from the new capital Naypyidaw -- looked on as aid workers at the camp opened plastic cases filled with relief supplies. Watch Myanmar leader's visit »

The visit comes on the day that United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes arrived in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, to assess the scope of the disaster.

Video from the scene show Holmes, flanked by troops, touring a hospital and speaking with doctors and cyclone survivors.

He will meet with the country's rulers and try to convince them that a disaster of such magnitude cannot be handled by one nation alone, said spokeswoman spokeswoman Amanda Pitt.

Last week, Holmes said the death toll from the cyclone which struck the country on May 2-3 could be "in the region of 100,000 or even more." Millions more are homeless.

The official death toll provided by Myanmar's government is much lower.

Aid agencies have struggled to gain access to the country from the secretive military junta that rules Myanmar, though some relief flights landed. The regime has indicated that it would like supplies but not international aid workers.

Forecasts show that in the coming days, the Irrawaddy Delta -- the part of the country hardest-hit by the cyclone -- could receive another 12 cm (4.7 inches) of rain, adding to the woes of the cyclone-affected masses.

The lack of access makes it hard to bring the scale of destruction into sharp focus.

Citing figures from 22 organizations in 58 townships, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said estimates of the death toll in Myanmar range from 68,833 and 127,990.

"They are all estimates, which may or may not be right," said spokesman John Sparrow. "There is no way to verify the figures, no way any organization could substantiate them."

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies does not formally estimate death tolls, he said. It compiled figures through an informal survey of numbers cited by other organizations. Those groups say the cyclone affected from 1.6 million and 2.5 million people.

"Clearly there's a huge frustration that while (aid workers) may be able to get into the country and into Yangon, they're not at the moment able to move into the affected areas and carry out the tasks they normally carry out," Holmes said.

In recent days, Myanmar has agreed to let in some foreign aid.

A U.S. Marine spokesman told CNN that the government had authorized five more U.S. flights to land in Myanmar with supplies. The flights will deliver 46 pallets loaded with bottled water, plastic sheeting and hygiene kits as well as crackers and powdered milk.

Three additional U.S. flights have already gone to Myanmar -- one on Monday and two on Tuesday. They carried food, mosquito netting and tarpaulins.

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials said the USS Essex, USS Juneau and USS Harpers Ferry are in international waters off the coast of the country, laden with more than 14,000 containers of fresh water and other aid and awaiting orders to deliver by air or landing craft.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to convene an emergency summit on Myanmar aid. Ban has blasted the reclusive regime for what he called an "unacceptably slow response" to the disaster, and called, "in the most strenuous terms, on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first."

Ban is scheduled to arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday for a three-day visit. He planned to visit the areas most affected by the May 2 storm -- especially the Irrawaddy Delta in southern Myanmar -- also known as Burma, the UN said in a release.

Forecasts show that in the coming days, the delta could receive another more heavy rain, adding to the woes of the cyclone-affected masses.

"The whole purpose of the trip is to accelerate the pace of disaster relief," said Ban spokeswoman Michele Montas. "He hopes his presence can really make things go faster."

CNN's Sara Sidner in Bangkok, Thailand, and Jennifer Z. Deaton contributed to this report.

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