Myanmar to release prisoners to mark Independence Day

Released prisoners were welcomed by family members and colleagues outside Insein Prison (AP)

Myanmar’s military government will release more than 6,000 prisoners and has reduced other inmates’ sentences as part of a mass amnesty marking Saturday’s 77th anniversary of independence from Britain.

It was not immediately clear if those released would include any of the thousands of political detainees locked up for opposing army rule since the military seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.