KIGALI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Over 700 ex-combatants of Rwandan rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have been repatriated to Rwanda from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where the group is based, the Rwandan government said Friday in a statement.
Another group of over 800 is expected to be repatriated to in the near future, said the statement.
The ex-combatants, together with their spouses and children, were given reinstallation packages and medical screening in a demobilization and reintegration center in Musanze District, northern Rwanda, it said, adding that children are receiving all required immunisations while pregnant women will undergo all ante-natal care.
The ex-combatants have been living in different transit camps across eastern DR Congo for over the last two years, where they were gathered as part of a joint UN and regional efforts to repatriate all rebel groups in the region, according to the statement.
This repatriation is in line with last year's decision of regional Heads of State, which set the deadline for repatriation without preconditions of the disarmed FDLR combatants and their dependents located in transit camps in eastern DR Congo by Oct. 20, 2018, said the government.
FDLR was formed after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against Tutsi with the intention to topple the Rwandan government.
It is largely made up of elements blamed for perpetuating the genocide, which claimed over 1 million lives, mostly ethnic Tutsis,
For decades the rebel group has been accused of wreaking havoc in neighboring DRC, terrorizing the local population and profiting from DR Congo's rich natural resources.
