Kathmandu, Nov. 22 (Reuters): Nepal’s former Maoist rebels must release the children held in their camps and stop forcing others who had left to return, the UN human rights agency said today.

Local and international rights groups have in the past accused the Maoists of kidnapping and conscripting children to their cause, a charge denied by the former rebels who ended their decade-long war against the monarchy last year.

The Maoists “must also speed up the process of formally releasing all minors still inside the cantonments so they can return to their families and civilian life”, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said.

Under the peace deal, the Maoists agreed to store their weapons under UN monitors and confine their fighters to camps around the country.

They also agreed to join the political mainstream, but two months ago walked out of the interim government amid a deadlock over their demand for an immediate end to the monarchy.