KIGALI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's minister of state for East African affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe on Tuesday welcomed the release of seven Rwandese by a military court in Uganda.
Nduhungirehe told state-owned Rwanda Television in an interview that the release is a good step toward normalizing Rwanda-Uganda relations.
The minister said the accused had been held on separate charges related to illegal possession of firearms since August 2017.
He said there are more Rwandese who are still incarcerated in Uganda and the Rwanda government has demanded that they be released unconditionally.
There are more than 100 Rwandans incarcerated in Uganda, according to the minister.
Prosecution at the General Court Martial in the Ugandan capital Kampala indicated that it had lost interest in the case.
The release came in the wake of negotiations by the two neighboring countries to end close to a year of misunderstandings.
Last year, Rwanda closed its common border with Uganda alleging that the latter was incarcerating its citizens. Uganda denied the allegations.
