FDLR commander surrenders as 250 return from DRC

A senior commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia operating in the DRC, Col. Etienne Mbarushimana, and eight other rebels recently surrendered.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

A senior commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia operating in the DRC, Col. Etienne Mbarushimana, and eight other rebels recently surrendered.FDLR a rebel outfit operating in eastern DRC, is composed of mainly elements responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and it is one of the main groups responsible of the wave of insecurity in that part of the country. Mbarushimana and his colleagues returned with their families.Meanwhile, over 250 Rwandans who have been living in DRC have returned home to escape clashes between the Congolese government forces and militia groups. Speaking to The New Times, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, Antoine Ruvebana, confirmed the development saying that preparations are underway to reintegrate the returnees into their communities. In the meantime, they will be accommodated at Nkamira Transit Centre in Rubavu District. Currently the centre hosts over 9,000 Congolese refugees, who fled renewed fighting that broke up earlier this monthr .