Kathmandu: Scores of child soldiers and
woman combatants of the former PLA guerrilla force were
released from UN supervised camps today in Nepal's Chitwan
district as part of the 2006 peace process.
More than 250 Maoist combatants, including 91 women,
disqualified by the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN)
were released from the PLA third division Shaktikhor
Cantonment in Chitwan today in the second phase of
the process to rehabilitate the disqualified guerrillas.
The cantonment shelters 3,900 combatants, of which 587
were disqualified by UNMIN during the verification process.
The released former guerrillas were seen off by
OHCHR-Nepal chief Richard Bennett, Peace Ministry's Joint
Secretary Bishnu Nepal and Maoists Commander Baldev, according
to officials.
The 258 disqualified combatants received NRs 22,000 to
meet their immediate needs.
Although 587 combatants in the Shaktikhor cantonment
were disqualified only 258 could be released today as others
were absent, according to the assistant commander Udaya
Bahadur Chalaune.
Over 100 child soldiers were released today. Earlier,
201 disqualified combatants were discharged on January 7 from
Dudhauli camp. Scores of former child soldiers of the Maoists'
guerrilla force were released on January 7 from the UN
supervised camps.
Nearly 20,000 former rebel fighters have been housed
in seven main camps since 2006, when they ended their
decade-long armed rebellion to join a peace process and enter
mainstream politics. UN monitors found that 2,975 of the
fighters were under 18. Altogether, there are some 4,008
disqualified Maoists guerrillas.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, January 17, 2010, 23:05