About 200 ex-rebels leave Nepal camps

Nepal: About 200 former rebels, among them dozens of children, began leaving their camps on Thursday supervised by the United Nations (UN) with the purpose of incorporating to the society.

Rebels left behind the doors of Sindhuli camp, 150 km southeast of Kathmandu, capital of the Himalayan nation, pointed out former Commander of the Maoist army Nanda Kishre Pun.

According to Pun, the process will be supervised by the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) during the next 40 days, period in which more than 4.000 former Maoist soldiers should begin their reintegration into society.

Kathmandu authorities and the former rebels agreed that a rehabilitation program to prevent these people getting involve in military activities.

The initiative includes education up to grade 12 and curses to learn a trade.

Nepal ended a 10-year civil war with a peace agreement on November 2006 in which the Government and the guerrillas decided to proclaim the Republic and to give a step toward a Constitution before next May.

presently 500 children under 18 remain in the camps. Kathmandu, Prensa Latina