More than 140 children who served as child soldiers in the former Cobra Faction and the SPLM in Opposition were released this morning in Buma State, the United Nations has said.

In a statement, the children agency, Unicef, says this is the largest number of children freed since 2015.

The release of the 140 children in Pibor brings the number released in the former Greater Pibor Administrative Area since 2015 to more than 1,700.

The children agency says there are yet up 16,000 children who are still in armed forces and armed groups to be returned to their families.

The Agency says the released children will receive counseling and psychosocial support and will be placed in an interim care center, until their families are traced.

It also says once the reintegration process is complete, their families will be provided with three months’ worth of food assistance as a take-home package to supplement household income for livelihood support.

Unicef says that during their release from the Cobra Faction and the SPLA in Opposition, the children were formally disarmed and provided with civilian clothes.

Medical screenings were also carried out before being registered for a reintegration program.