Myanmar's military leader has released about 4,900 prisoners as part of the country's traditional New Year celebrations, according to state media on Thursday. An independent watchdog said that at least 22 of those released were political prisoners.

At least 19 buses carrying prisoners left Insein Prison in Yangon, where they were greeted by joyful family members and friends who had been waiting outside since early morning. According to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar—an independent group that tracks human rights violations in the country’s prisons—an initial count showed that 22 political prisoners were released. "Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, pardoned 4,893 prisoners," MRTV reported. "Thirteen foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar," it said in a separate statement. Other prisoners had their sentences reduced, except for those convicted of serious crimes like murder and rape, or those facing charges under various security laws.

If any of the released prisoners break the law again, they will have to serve the rest of their original sentence, in addition to any new sentence they receive, as per the terms of their release. Mass pardons during holidays are not uncommon in Myanmar. Myanmar has been under military control since February 1, 2021, when the army removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. This led to large-scale nonviolent protests, which eventually turned into a widespread armed conflict. The country is now in a civil war. As of last Friday, there were 22,197 political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group that tracks arrests and casualties related to the country's political unrest.

Many of these detainees were charged with incitement, a broad offense often used to arrest government or military critics. Incitement is punishable by up to three years in prison. One of the individuals freed on Thursday was a film director known as Steel, whose real name is Dwe Myittar. He had been arrested in March 2023 and was being held in Insein Prison. This year, Thingyan, the New Year's holiday, was more subdued than usual due to a nationwide period of mourning after a devastating earthquake on March 28. The earthquake killed around 3,725 people and caused extensive damage, destroying everything from new condos to ancient pagodas. In his New Year's speech, Min Aung Hlaing promised that the government would quickly begin rebuilding and rehabilitating the areas affected by the earthquake. 

He also reaffirmed plans to hold a general election by the end of the year and urged opposition groups fighting the army to resolve their issues through political means. During the holiday, fighting between the army and pro-democracy forces continued, with reports of clashes in rural areas, although the exact number of casualties was unclear.