Rwanda repatriated 533 citizens from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday, the first group to return under a new agreement with Congo and the UN refugee agency to facilitate safe and voluntary returns, authorities said.
The returnees—most of them women and children—were transported to a transit center in Rusizi district in western Rwanda before onward reintegration into communities, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a post on X.
Officials said the group had been living in a temporary camp in Goma, eastern DRC, an area currently under the control of M23 rebels.
Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe welcomed the convoy’s arrival, writing on X that “despite the noise made by some Western spoilers,” Rwandans “previously held hostages by the FDLR genocidal force in eastern DRC” continue to return home.
Last month, Rwanda and Congo pledged to enable the safe, voluntary return of refugees as part of a broader diplomatic push, including a Washington-brokered peace effort between Kinshasa and Kigali and a July 19 declaration of principles signed in Doha by the Congolese government and M23. Authorities did not disclose timelines for subsequent convoys, but said returns would continue under the accord with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).