Myanmar junta pardons prisoners, to attend regional summit

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s junta has released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month. It isn’t clear if those released included pro-democracy activists detained for protesting the coup. As security forces continued the deadly crackdown, unconfirmed but credible accounts with photos on social media said that three people were killed Saturday in the central city of Mogok, in Myanmar’s gem mining region. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, government forces have killed at least 728 protesters and bystanders since the coup. Over 3,000 are jailed, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.