First Child Soldiers Released.

A group of children associated with the fighting between rebel and government forces in Sierra Leone was handed over by pro-government militiamen to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which will demobilize and reunite them with their families and communities. UNICEF on 13 June said the children, who range in age from four to seventeen years old, were with no visible physical injuries. The children include 92 ex-soldiers and 46 who were separated from their families during the recent fighting. "This is the first group of child soldiers released by pro-government forces in Sierra Leone since President Kabbah urged that all children below the age of 18 be with-drawn from the frontlines and be demobilized", UNICEF said. Over the years, more than 10,000 children in Sierra Leone have been separated from their families, including an estimated 5,400 children who have been abducted and conscripted into the armed forces.