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The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, has freed nearly two dozen children from the ranks of the country's armed forces this week, UN officials announced here on Monday.

In the eastern province of South Kivu, four children were separated from the newly integrated Congolese army (FARDC) as part of "Operation Zero Tolerance for children associated with armed forces," a MONUC-backed initiative, the officials said.

The children had been recruited by the mainly Tutsi rebel militia, the National Congress for People's Defense (CNDP), before joining the FARDC during the accelerated integration process.

 The integration process began after a peace deal was struck between the government and the CNDP.