As the date to invoke the Cessation Clause on Rwandan refugees draws nearer, the number returning home continues to increase.

Over the past weekend, at least 214 returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)and Cameroon.

According to Robert Bimenyimana, a public relations official at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, the returnees were received several parts of the country.

"The ministry, through its Nkamira Transit Camp in Rubavu District, received 161 returnees from DRC, while 52 were received in Rusizi District from the same country. One person returned from Cameroon,” he said.

According to the ministry, over 25,000 Rwandans have voluntarily returned to Rwanda from DRC since 2009. It is now believed that over 70,000 Rwandans now live in several parts of the world.

Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi the Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, welcomed the returnees, stressing that it is only through coming home that they will get a clear image of what is taking place in the country.

"We believe that all Rwandans living in refugee camps in various countries are now getting accurate information about our country, and this is due to sensitisation trips we have embarked on,” he told The New Times in an interview. 

"We are optimist that by the end of this year, many more will have returned home”.

Gatsinzi urged the returnees to advise their colleagues still abroad to repatriate.

The returnees were provided with repatriation packages that include food and various materials to help them for a three-month period, during which they will be integrated into the community.

Ends