Story highlights FARC rebels release eight minors as part of historic agreementGuerrillas have trained children to lay mines and fight in civil war(CNN) Child soldiers were released Saturday by Marxist rebels in Colombia as part of a potential peace deal with the government. FARC rebels freed eight minors from their ranks as part of a deal that could see the end of the 52-year civil war that has claimed 220,000 lives, said the International Committee of the Red Cross, which received the youths. "At this moment the young girls, boys and adolescents are being transported to a transitional place where they will be greeted by a UNICEF team," an ICRC statement said. The committee did not release the identities of the children, saying that "discretion is key to the success of such missions," which are expected to continue under a treaty between FARC and the Colombian government. For decades, the rebels have forced children to become soldiers, training them as guerrillas to lay mines and fight.

Source: CNN September 10, 2016 19:30 UTC