Maj. Justin Niyomugabo, a member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia this week defected from the 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.The soldiers are Privates Emmanuel Habiyambere and Celestin Bizimungu and Cpl. Jean Baptiste Nsengimana and Valens Munezero.After crossing the border, 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.“I realised there was no reason to remain in the bush fighting a hopeless war. It was also increasingly becoming difficult to survive because of the constant insurgencies in the Congo,” Niyomugabo added.
