Thousands of Rwandan refugees leave DRC

Thousands of Rwandan refugees have returned home from eastern DRC, UNHCR reported on Tuesday. It said some 14,000 refugees had arrived in the Gisenyi and Cyangugu prefectures since January, and local authorities indicated several thousand more could follow. Returnees told UNHCR that officials in eastern DRC had warned them to return home and they had been encouraged by the relative calm in northwest Rwanda. Rebel authorities in DRC had further warned the refugees of renewed military sweeps in the area, UNHCR added. UNHCR is helping the refugees return to their communes. Meanwhile the agency announced it would reopen its office in Goma this week. The office was closed in October 1997. One of the objectives would be to assess the situation of Rwandans who had remained in the heavily forested region since the camps were broken up in late 1996. The refugees scattered westwards and an estimated 173,000 remained unaccounted for, a UNCHR spokesman said.