Ahmed Mufti, Chairman of the Committee for Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWAC) was quoted as saying the release was under the framework of co-operation between the SPLA/M and CEAWC.

"CEAWAC has made the necessary arrangements for the return of the POWs included in the list in a period that will not exceed two weeks from now," Mufti said, and thanked the former rebel SPLA/M for the gesture.

The Khartoum government and John Garang-led SPLA/M signed a peace agreement in January to end more than two decades of civil war that claimed more than 1.5 million lives in south Sudan.

Describing the initiative as a fruit of the long-awaited peace deal, Mufti said the CEAWC founded in 1999 had taken the necessary measures to return the POWs to their families.