The story

U.S. Navy ships loaded with supplies for victims of Myanmar's cyclone will sail away from the country's coast on Thursday, after the ruling junta refused for three weeks to allow them to deliver aid.

Adm. Timothy Keating said the USS Essex group would leave the shores of Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Thursday, but that he would leave several heavy lift aircraft in Thailand to assist international relief efforts.

"We have made at least 15 attempts to convince the Burmese government to allow our ships, helicopters and landing craft to provide additional disaster relief for the people of Burma, but they have refused us each and every time," Keating said in a statement Wednesday. Read full article »

CNN's Charley Keyes and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

All About Myanmar • United Nations • Cyclone Nargis