Light jail sentences for Buddhists in Myanmar Islamic school massacre that left dozens dead

YANGON, Myanmar – State media in Myanmar say a court has sentenced seven Buddhists to between three and 15 years in jail for their role in a massacre at an Islamic boarding school that left dozens of students and teachers dead.

The Kyemon daily says a Muslim man was also found guilty Wednesday, but provided few details.

A wave of sectarian violence that has gripped Myanmar in the last year has left more than 250 people dead — most of them Muslims — and sent 140,000 others fleeing their homes.

The March 21 attack on the Mingalar Zayone Islamic Boarding School in the central town of Meikhtila was one of the most brutal, with Buddhist mobs hunting down children and teachers with metal pipes, chains and stones as security forces stood by.