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Myanmar soldiers jailed with hard labour for village killings
Seven soldiers were sentenced to five years each with hard labour in Myanmar after murdering five members of an ethnic minority group in June
Five badly beaten corpses were pulled from shallow graves after soldiers entered the city of Mong Yaw and rounded up dozens of men
A Myanmar military court has jailed seven soldiers for five years each with hard labour for murdering five ethnic minority villagers in June, state media said on Friday.
The prosecution of military personnel in Myanmar is reportedly rare.
The seven, including four officers, will serve their time in civilian prisons, said a report from a court martial in north-eastern Myanmar.
Soldiers have often been accused of serious human rights abuses in Myanmar's long-running wars with ethnic armed groups, but the allegations are rarely acknowledged, according Reuters news agency.
Reuters reported that soldiers entered the city of Mong Yaw, which is mostly populated by members of the Shan and Palaung ethnic groups, on 25 June and rounded up dozens of men they suspected of aiding the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, a Palaung militia that has been fighting government forces in the area for several years.
Five badly beaten corpses were later pulled from shallow graves and identified as missing villagers.
Myanmar's army ran the country for almost five decades before initiating a transition to civilian rule that saw Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi take power in April.
