( CNN ) -- The 103 Chadian children whom six French charity workers were convicted of attempting to kidnap will soon be reunited with their families , the United Nations ' children agency said Friday . Some of the 103 children who were nearly abducted by a French charity , pictured in Abeche in November 2007 . The children have been living in an orphanage in Abeche , in eastern Chad , since late October . Chadian authorities arrested the Zoe 's Ark aid workers as they earlier tried to leave the central African country with the children on a Paris-bound plane , the United Nations Children 's Fund said . The charity had said the children were orphans from Sudan 's war-torn Darfur region and were being taken to foster families in France . However , other charities determined that most of the children were from Chad , not Sudan , and had at least one living parent . Beginning next week , a UNICEF team will travel to Abeche , Adre and Tine to facilitate reuniting the 21 girls and 82 boys , aged 1 to 10 , with their families . Chad 's government has approved the move , UNICEF said . Interviews with the children indicated that the majority were from villages near the cities of Adre and Tine along the Chadian-Sudanese border , according to a November statement from the Red Cross , UNICEF , and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees . The kidnapping scandal attracted international attention , with French authorities reacting angrily to the charity 's trip , calling the group 's actions `` illegal and irresponsible . '' However , French President Nicolas Sarkozy intervened on the six 's behalf after a Chadian court sentenced the six aid workers to eight years of hard labor in Chad , and the central African nation handed them over to France to serve their sentences . In late January , a French court sentenced Eric Breteau -- the group 's leader -- Emilie Lelouch , Alain Peligat , Philippe van Winkelberg , Dominique Aubry and Nadia Merimi to eight years in a French prison . E-mail to a friend .
The 103 children taken by French aid workers to be reunited with families soon . The 21 girls and 82 boys , aged 1-10 , will be handed over to relatives in Chad . They have been in orphanage in Chadian town of Abeche since late October . Six Zoe 's Ark workers were convicted on kidnapping charges in December .