MYANMAR ANNOUNCES AMNESTY FOR THOUSANDS

Myanmar’s ruling junta announced Monday that it would free more than 5,600 anti-regime protesters this week in its first significant release of political prisoners since seizing power in a Feb. 1 coup.

The junta said it was granting the prisoners amnesty to mark the Lighting Festival, a three-day holiday that begins today. But it gave no indication of whether top officials of the ousted civilian government, including its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, would be among those released.

Most of the protesters were arrested during a brutal crackdown this year as millions of people took to the streets and staged a national strike. Soldiers and the police killed more than 1,170 protesters — often by shooting them in the head — and have detained more than 7,300 others, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group.

In recent months, the military has successfully suppressed street protests, but it faces frequent guerrilla attacks in cities. It is also clashing with newly formed rebel units in outlying areas, including Chin state, where witnesses say the military is building up forces.

The announcement of the amnesty came just days after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, announced that it would exclude the head of the junta, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, from an upcoming meeting of regional leaders.

The 10-member association, commonly known as ASEAN, rarely interferes in the affairs of member nations, but it appears to be making an exception with Myanmar.