Maj. Justin Niyomugabo, a member of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) militia this week defected from the outlawed group.

He was the Deputy Commander of a battalion comprising the reserve forces.

He came with four other soldiers, one woman and two children aged three and four.

Two of the soldiers are Privates Emanuel Habiyambere and Celestin Bizimungu and the others are Cpl. Jean Baptiste Nsengimana and Valens Munezero.

After crossing the border with the help of United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), Niyomugabo told the press at Gisenyi Sector offices that he decided to come back after noticing that it was no longer necessary to keep wasting time in the Congo jungles.

Niyomugabo who left Rwanda in 1994 at the age of 12, said he abandoned the outfit because he got tired of fighting a senseless war. He explained that the willingness to return to Rwanda was motivated by the constant communication he had with his relatives and fellow ex-combatants who had returned earlier.