Nepal to release child soldiers

KATHMANDU, Nepal, July 18 (UPI) -- An estimated 3,000 child soldiers are to be released by November from camps in Nepal holding former Maoist rebel fighters, authorities said.

The move to rehabilitate the child soldiers is a "significant milestone" for Nepal, United Nations officials told the BBC in a story published Saturday.

The young soldiers are to be offered vocational training, psychological support and up to 45 days in special transit camps before returning home, the BBC reported Saturday.

The child soldiers are among an estimated 24,000 former fighters confined to camps in 2006 when the rebels reached a peace agreement that brought them into the government.

The fate of the adult fighters in the camps remains a stumbling block in the peace process as the Nepalese government deliberates whether to integrate them into the national army, the BBC reported.