Rubavu District Mayor Prosper Mulindwa has called on Rwandans returning from DR Congo to reject regionalism and embrace unity as they reintegrate into the society.

He made the remarks at Grande Barrier Border Post on Wednesday, August 5, while welcoming 285 Rwandan nationals who voluntarily returned from DR Congo as part of an ongoing repatriation programme supported by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNCHR).

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The voluntary repatriation programme follows a high-level meeting held in Addis Ababa in June last year involving Rwanda, DR Congo and the UNHCR. Officials committed to support the repatriation of 10,000 Rwandans in 2026.

Noting that regionalism was one of the factors that led to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Mulindwa said such divisions must be rejected.

He urged the returnees to embrace the spirit of &039;Ndi Umunyarwanda' policy, which promotes national unity.

The mayor also said that welcoming families who have decided to return home is a sign that the truth continues to prevail and that Rwanda is safe today.

"They have made a great decision by returning to Rwanda,” he added. "We will be close to them and let them witness for themselves where Rwandans are today and what the country has achieved.”

Innocent Munyembabazi, 63, is one of the Rwandan nationals returning from Kizimba in DR Congo.

"There is no life in Congo,” he said. "We could not return because members of the FDLR militia would not allow us through. They would tell us that we would return when the time came.”

Francois Bizumuremyi, 64, who fled to DR Congo in 1994 said they were being told that the FDLR would eventually retake Rwanda.

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"I went to Congo in 1994, and they would promise that they wanted to take back the country, and we believed them,” he said.

"They would tell us that people are killed when they return to Rwanda.”