Unicef said it would try to reunite the young fighters with their families
A South Sudanese militia has freed 280 child soldiers as part of a wider deal to release about 3,000 underage fighters, the UN's children agency Unicef has said.
More releases will occur in the coming weeks, said the agency, which helped negotiate the children's freedom.
The soldiers were recruited into an armed group which has now made peace with the government.
South Sudanese rebel militias have been locked in a civil war since 2013.
Fighting began after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy of trying to foment a coup, triggering a descent into nationwide violence.
About 1.5 million people have fled their homes as a result of the fighting.
According to Unicef, around 12,000 children have been forcibly recruited by armed groups in South Sudan over the past year.
"These children have been forced to do and see things no child should ever experience,'' said the agency's South Sudan representative Jonathan Veitch.
The 3,000 young fighters due to be released were members of a militia called the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra Faction.
Unicef said it was trying to reunite them with their families.
BBC.COM