[KIGALI, RWANDA] After several months of demobilization at the Mutobo center, 214 individuals affiliated with armed groups, including suspected members of the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), have been reintegrated into Rwandan society. The FDLR has been operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for nearly three decades.
[The Rwandan government has been working to demobilize and reintegrate such individuals since 2001, with the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission assisting over 12,000 people. The reintegration process at Mutobo included civic education, social support, and preparation for the return to their communities of origin.].
[The issue of the FDLR, born from leaders and participants of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, continues to be a major security concern for Rwanda. The president of the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, Valérie Nyirahabineza, highlighted the importance of host communities’attitudes towards the reintegrated individuals. She emphasized the need for communities to accept the former fighters beyond their past roles as fighters.].
[The 214 individuals are set to return to their home villages, with over half expected to go back to Rubavu district, which borders Goma in the DRC.].
Source: Africanews
