A total of 101 families of Rwandans, comprising 314 people, returned from DR Congo, crossing the Grande Barriere border post in Rubavu District on Wednesday, September 24.

The returnees, mostly women and children, were received by Rwandan officials and the UN Refugee Agency. They are the latest group to arrive from eastern DR Congo, where some have spent more than 30 years.

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They said the members of the FDLR, a group founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, had prevented them from leaving jungles of DR Congo, threatening them or arguing that Rwanda was not safe.

Their return is part of the ongoing repatriation efforts agreed on at a high-level meeting held in Addis Ababa in June between Rwanda, DR Congo and the UN Refugee Agency on Voluntary Repatriation of Refugees.

Upon arrival, the returnees were transported at Nyarushishi Transit Centre in Rusizi District where they will be temporarily hosted before they are reintegrated into back their respective communities.

Their return to their home country adds to other groups of over 4,000 Rwandans who have returned from DR Congo since January 2025 on various occasions, contributing to the total of 3.5 million citizens repatriated since 1994 as stated by the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA).