Since the restoration of peace in May 2009, over 4600 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said.

"We have handed over child ex-combatants to their parents after rehabilitation. Six thousand more are to be rehabilitated," he added.

Since May 2009 , the government took measures to rehabilitate around 10,000 ex LTTE combatants which includes children. Several hundreds of child soldiers were given the opportunity to complete their secondary education. In August, around 500 such students sat for the GCE advanced level examination and later were handed over to their parents.

The latest batch of 498, more than a half of them women, were released in the Northern town of Vavuniya Friday. The released former rebels have gone through vocational and English language training. The private sector firms have shown interest to recruit them, mostly in the apparel export sector.