Rwanda welcomes over 100 families returning from the DRC

By The Inspirer.

Rubavu, September 24, 2025 – Rwanda has received 101 families of Rwandan origin, totaling 314 people, who returned home from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through the Grande Barrière border in Rubavu District.

The returnees, mainly women and children, were welcomed by Rwandan authorities in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of them were setting foot in Rwanda for the first time, after spending more than 30 years in Congo’s forests.

They said fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—a militia formed by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi—had prevented them from leaving, using fear and misinformation to keep them in Congo.

The repatriation is part of an agreement reached in June in Addis Ababa between Rwanda, the DRC, and UNHCR to facilitate the voluntary return of Rwandan refugees.

Upon arrival, the returnees were transferred to Nyarushishi Transit Center in Rusizi District, where they will stay temporarily before reintegration.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA), more than 4,000 people have repatriated from the DRC since January 2025, bringing the total number of Rwandans who have returned since 1994 to about 3.5 million.