Brown lashes out at Myanmar regime

LONDON, May 17 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined a chorus of condemnation of Myanmar's government, accusing it of "inhuman" acts by blocking relief aid.

Brown lashed out Friday at the military junta running the Asian nation, saying its actions have transformed the natural disaster of Cyclone Nargis into a man-made disaster of epic proportions.

"It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do," Brown said according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Myanmar government Friday increased its estimate of those killed by the storm to 78,000, approaching the 100,000 suggested by the United Nations.

Brown's comments came after France's United Nations ambassador said Myanmar was coming close to committing "a crime against humanity" by blocking foreign relief workers from entering, the British newspaper said.