New York — The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has started talks with rebel groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) to secure the release of hundreds of child soldiers so they can return to their families, with 220 already freed so far.

Discussions have started with the full support of the Government of CAR, which has engaged in talks with the UNICEF since the first UN assessment mission in the Vakaga region identified armed children among the ranks of non-State armed groups in January, the agency said in a news release.

General Damane Zakaria, head and founder of the Assembly of the Union of Democratic Forces (UFDR) rebel group that controls parts of north-eastern CAR, close to Sudan's troubled Darfur region, has agreed on releasing some 400 children, UNICEF said. A first list of 220 child soldiers has been given to UNICEF last week.

"This UNICEF programme not only contributes significantly to children's welfare, but also helps resolve one of CAR's most pressing problems," said the agency's CAR Humanitarian Coordinator, Toby Lanzer.

UNICEF is now entering into negotiations with the Government of CAR to study the feasibility of a release agreement after the UFDR has agreed to sign a final commitment in the coming weeks.

The Representative of UNICEF in CAR, Mahimbo Mdoe, thanked the Government for its openness and support in this process. "It is imperative for UNICEF to move fast to free these children from this environment of violence.�

Under UNICEF's plan, communities will be supported and social services rehabilitated to welcome the released children and to facilitate their reintegration back into their families.

The UNICEF programme will also extend to all the children of northeast CAR, who will benefit from stepped-up health care, schooling and recreation activities, protection and security.

Nearly 300,000 people have had to flee their homes in the CAR over the past year because of fighting, banditry and rebel attacks. UN officials have warned that the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region is threatening to engulf the CAR as well as Chad.