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BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) - Rebel leaders in the Central African Republic have agreed to begin sending several hundred child soldiers home to their families, United Nations officials said Friday.
Gen. Damane Zakaria, whose army controls a portion of the northeast of the country, had agreed to liberate around 400 children. An initial list of 220 child soldiers was handed to UNICEF last week, UNICEF spokeswoman Anne Boher said in a statement.
Contacted by telephone in his rebel stronghold of Gordil, 620 miles by land from Bangui, Zakaria confirmed that the rebel Union of Democratic Forces Coalition is prepared to sign an agreement with the U.N. agency in coming days. He estimated that about 500 children will be freed as a result of the accord.
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