"More than 200,000 former soldiers who are not guilty of human rights violations or war crimes are expected to benefit from this plan," the council said in a statement released here.

It said the reintegration program would be carried out in cooperation with the US-led coalition controlling Iraq and international agencies that have been involved in demilitarizing society in such places as Mozambique, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Over the next four months, former soldiers would be able to submit applications "that will be assessed in order to determine their skills and needs," the interim body said.

The former soldiers will receive professional counsel and help to enter the labor market, it added.

The top US civil administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, abolished Saddam's 400,000-strong military and long dreaded security apparatus in May.

Recruitment for a more modest post-Saddam army will start on Saturday, with two-month basic training kicking off in August to produce its first 1,000-strong light-armored mechanized infantry battalion, coalition officials said last week.

All men between the ages of 18 and 40, with the exception of those who held the rank of colonel or above in the old Iraqi army or served in the top four tiers of the ousted Baath Party, are eligible to sign up.

The new army aims to have a nucleus of 12,000 men within a year and a full 40,000 in two years time, tasked with manning Iraq's borders and ensuring internal stability as well as working side by side with US forces.

Recent weeks have seen demonstrations by former Iarqi soldiers demanding back pay, which the coalition began to dole out last week.

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