Thousands of former child soldiers held in Nepalese camps for Maoist rebels will start leaving the camps on Thursday. An official ceremony has begun to mark the release of several hundred children at a camp in Sindhuli district, in central Nepal. <br/> <br/>The children have been confined to the UN-monitored camps with other ex-rebels since a 2006 peace deal that ended a 10-year Maoist insurgency. Their release is a key part of Nepal's peace process. <br/> <br/>The former child soldiers are to be given the option of going to school, getting vocational training, or starting businesses. Nearly 20,000 former Maoist rebels have been living in seven main camps in Nepal. The UN has identified about 3,000 as being under the age of 18. <br/>