Myanmar president pardons 2 UN aid workers

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's president has pardoned two local United Nations staffers who were sentenced to jail for their alleged roles in a wave of violence between Muslims and Buddhists that erupted in June.

A statement on President Thein Sein's website said a third aid worker employed by the Community Social Services Education Project charity was also pardoned.

No reason was given, and it was not immediately known whether the three had been freed.

A court in western Rakhine state convicted the three on various charges on Friday including inciting unrest.

The sentences ranged from two to six years in jail.

The three, all believed to be Muslims, have been held since the unrest between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June, leaving at least 80 dead and 100,000 displaced.