By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, July 16 (Reuters) - Nepal will release thousands of former child soldiers living in Maoist camps by early November, a minister said on Thursday, more than two years after a peace deal ended a deadly civil war in the Himalayan nation. The United Nations estimated in 2007 that nearly 3,000 children were living in camps housing former Maoist fighters, part of a deal to end a decade-long conflict that caused more than 13,000 deaths. The government will also release another 1,000 people who joined as Maoist fighters after the peace process began and were therefore disqualifed from the camps. "All disqualified Maoists and the minors will be released by Nov. 2," Peace and Reconstruction Minister Rakam Chemjong told Reuters. A government statement said authorities expected "full cooperation" from the Maoists. The Maoists could not be immediately reached for comment. This is the first time the government has set a deadline for the release of minors from the camps set up under the 2006 peace deal. From Friday, authorities will meet the children individually to decide how they will be rehabilitated. "They will be free to decide about their future," Chemjong said. Nepal was under U.N. pressure to release the "Maoist army elements disqualified as minors" from the camps. The Maoists deny using child soldiers but admit employing children for support services in the decade-long conflict. In May, the Maoists resigned from a coalition government they were heading after a surprise victory in the election for a special assembly held in April last year. (Editing by Bryson Hull) (For the latest Reuters news on Nepal see: http://in.reuters.com, for blogs see http://blogs.reuters.com/in/)
People look down from Coronation bridge on the Teesta river during the fourth day of an indefinite strike at Sevok village near the eastern Indian hill town of Darjeeling July 16, ...
