Rwandan citizens returning from DR Congo said that members of the FDLR, a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, had prevented their return for years.

This was said as Rwandan officials received more than 530 returnees from various parts of DR Congo who arrived at the Grande Barrière border post in Rubavu District on Monday, August 25.

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The repatriation follows a high-level meeting held in Addis Ababa in June between officials from Rwanda, DR Congo and the UN Refugee Agency, who committed to voluntary repatriation of refugees.

Egide Twagirumukiza, one of the returnees, expressed great relief at finally crossing into Rwanda. The father of three, now married to a Congolese woman, had lived in eastern DR Congo for about 30 years

"I am very happy to see my home country, everything has changed. I feel over the moon,” added the man, who is returning to Muhanga District, formerly known as Gitarama, his hometown.

"I could not return home as FDLR blocked us, " narrated Twagirumukiza, 52, who was a casual agricultural farmer in Masisi. "Whoever showed intent to come home, they could beat them to death.”

Twagirumukiza recounted how FDLR fighters severely beat him, leaving him for dead after they learned his sister had come to take him home. "They beat me after knowing that my sister had come to take me home, claiming we, the civilians, are their strengths,” he said after crossing the border with his wife and children.

Pierre Habarugira, 79, who comes from the former Kayove Commune, now part of Rutsiro District, echoed Twagirumukiza&039;s sentiments.

"I worked in construction in Goma town since I fled IN 1994 until when I got sick," Habarugira explained. "Life hasn't been good since 2001, especially with the ongoing wars in Congo, where you cannot have safety. That's what made me decide to come home and be with my family again, following the recent heavy fighting in the town."

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The Mayor of Rubavu District, Prosper Mulindwa, who welcomed the returnees, emphasized the positive choice they had made.

"The decision you have taken to come back is something you will never regret in your life,” Mulindwa stated, urging them to encourage others left behind to return as well. "Feel at home. You have made a better choice in your life.”

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA), the group will be hosted at Nyarushishi Transit Center in Rusizi District, joining another 4,000 Rwandans who have returned from DR Congo since January 2025.

The ministry said some 3.5 million Rwandans have been repatriated from DR Congo over the past three decades.