Myanmar’s ousted leader Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest due to heat, military says WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio [Video]

BANGKOK — (AP) — Myanmar’s jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave, the military government said as it freed more than 3,000 prisoners under an amnesty to mark this week’s traditional New Year holiday.

Those released included several political prisoners, including a member of the Kachin minority who is one of the country’s most prominent Christian church leaders.

Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, the 72-year-old former president of her ousted government, were among the elderly and infirm prisoners moved to house arrest because of the severe heat, military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told foreign media representatives late Tuesday. The move had not yet been publicly announced in Myanmar as of Wednesday afternoon.

Suu Kyi’s transfer comes as the army has suffered a string of major defeatsat the hands of pro-democracy resistance fighters and their allies in ethnic minority guerrilla forces. The nationwide conflict …