After more than a decade in the ranks of the Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR in eastern DR Congo, Corporal Innocent Tuyisenge is learning how to live without a gun.

Tuyisenge, 28, was born in DR Congo to Rwandan parents and grew up in Kalenga, Masisi territory of North Kivu province . His childhood ended abruptly at 15, when he was forcibly recruited by FDLR fighters while working on a farm.

"It was on Saturday. About 15 of us youths were working together in our cooperative when armed men surrounded us,” he recalled. "They told us to carry bullets to another group nearby and promised to let us return homes later. We walked until nightfall and instead found ourselves inside a military camp very far from home.”

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That marked the beginning of a decade-long ordeal defined by military training, indoctrination and violence. Tuyisenge said the first six months were spent on military training alongside children as young as 10, during which ethnic hatred was systematically instilled.

"We were taught that Tutsi were our enemies, that they expelled us from Rwanda, and that our mission was to fight them in DR Congo before one day capturing Rwanda,” he said.

Many did not survive. Those who endured were deployed to fight groups labelled as "enemies”, including M23 rebels, Tutsi civilians, and various civilian groups targeted for looting.

"Survival meant fighting,” he said. "If we needed food or money, we attacked. Orders were never questioned.”

Tuyisenge said the violence extended to cross-border attacks into Rwanda’s western and southern regions, alongside clashes involving the Congolese army, Wazalendo militias and other armed groups.

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He is among hundreds of Rwandans who returned home in early 2025 through voluntary repatriations facilitated by the UN Refugee Agency following the capture of Goma by AFC/M23.

Upon return, the former combatants underwent demobilisation and reintegration training at Mutobo Demobilisation Centre in Musanze District, while civilians were enrolled in community-based reintegration programmes.

Today, Tuyisenge, who lives Kanzenze, Rubavu District, says life in Rwanda is very different from what they were taught as FDLR elements.

"In DR Congo, nothing was earned legally. Here, people walk freely with their money, their belongings, their dignity,” he said. "I now work as a night patrol officer, and my wife does small jobs. We survive peacefully.”

He added that the constant fear that once defined his existence has faded. "Back in the jungle, we slept in our clothes, always ready to fight. Now I sleep peacefully. I have good dreams.”

On Thursday, January 15, Tuyisenge joined other reintegrated returnees in Nyundo Sector, Rubavu District, for a session with officials from the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission and other government agencies. The meeting assessed their social and economic reintegration journey and provided a platform to share concerns.

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Emmanuel Habimana Habarurema, a former FDLR lieutenant colonel who left Rwanda in 1998 and graduated from Mutobo centre last October, said returning home dismantled long-held fears.

"I thought I would be killed because I fought against my country,” he said. "Instead, I was welcomed, trained, given clothes and supported to start life again.”

Habimana has since started small income m-generating activities.

"In the few months I have been home, I have already invested in livestock farming, and I plan to expand into business and resume my education,” he said. "I was struck by how much the country has developed since I left, and I am eager to settle, grow my businesses and focus on my life,”

He credited both the government and the community for facilitating his reintegration, saying neighbours and family played a critical role in helping him resettle.

"People welcomed me and gave me small forms of support, which I combined with the little money I had to invest in my businesses,” he said. "With my father’s help, life has stabilised now. We talk, we visit each other, and life is good.”

"There is no life in DR Congo,” he added. "If you do not die in war, you die of hunger. Lies must stop luring young people into conflict.”

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Another returnee, Jean Claude Dushime, 25, who spent nine years as an FDLR fighter, said propaganda had discouraged many from returning.

"We were told we would be killed if we came back,” Dushime recalled. "Instead, I was reunited with my family and given a chance to work and live safely.”

For civilians like Claire Nirembere, a 28-year-old mother of four, returning home was driven lack of security in DR Congo. She recounted a 2025 night attack by Wazalendo fighters in DR Congo.

"They beat me and my husband and demanded money. We escaped, leaving our children behind,” Nirembere said. "We thought each other was dead until morning.”

In Rwanda, she said, fear has been replaced by hope. "Security here allows us to work, plan and educate our children.”

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Nineteen-year-old Gasore Muragijimana, another former combatant, said reintegration has challenged the ethnic narratives he was taught.

"I feared speaking to people because of tribal narratives,” he said. "Now I see they were lies. I am working to develop myself and I will never go back to Congo.”

While praising reintegration support, the returnees also raised challenges including access to health insurance, employment opportunities, legal marriage registration and inclusion in government programmes.

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Responding to them, Brig Gen Albert Rugamba of the Rwanda Defence Force in the Western Region, assured the returnees that the government is fully prepared to support their reintegration and facilitate access to employment and essential services.

"You should not worry. You are home, in your country, and you are citizens like any other,” Rugamba told the returnees.

"We will work closely with local leaders, the private sector and civil society to identify opportunities and ensure that you do not lack opportunities.”

He cautioned the returnees against any actions that could draw them back into armed groups or violent acts, noting that unresolved ties to FDLR and its genocidal ideology often underpin relapse into militancy.

"If you still have interests or activities there because you lived there for a long time, that is understandable,” Rugamba said. "But any return must follow official channels and be coordinated with local leadership. Above all, abandon genocide ideology, it offers nothing and has no place in your future.”

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Valerie Nyirahabineza, chairperson of the demobilization commission, said they would closely follow up on the concerns raised, working with local government entities to ensure effective reintegration and advocacy for sustainable solutions.

"We have heard individuals pledging to offer employment to some of those reintegrated,” she said. "With cooperation among all relevant institutions, these issues can be resolved.”

The returnees were also briefed on how public institutions coordinate to deliver services, including where to seek assistance and the requirements for accessing citizen support programmes.