Myanmar freed 155 Chinese jailed for illegal logging in an amnesty for thousands of prisoners on Thursday, a move that could ease diplomatic tensions with neighbour China Reuters reported on 39 July.
Some 6,966 prisoners were pardoned including the Chinese citizens held in Kachin state, of which 153 were given life sentences last week that prompted a diplomatic protest by an "extremely concerned" China .
The loggers were among 210 foreigners included in Thursday's amnesty, according to prison and Home Ministry officials.
The loggers were arrested in January in a crackdown on Myanmar's lucrative illegal logging and timber trade. More than 400 vehicles and 1,600 logs were seized during the raid, state media said at the time.