MONUC repatriates 17 Rwandan ex-fighters from Zambia

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, on Thursday repatriated 17 Rwandan former fighters who had taken refuge in Zambia, MONUC said in a statement. The 17 were among a group of around 100 Rwandan ex-combatants in Ukwimi refugee camp in southeastern Zambia, close to the borders with Mozambique and Malawi. Among the 17 were some who had fled Kamina military base (Katanga province, DRC) in November 2002, after fighting between the Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) and DRC government troops, MONUC said. MONUC said the 17 men would spend 45 days at Mutobo demobilisation centre in northern Rwanda, before being reintegrated into civilian life. A MONUC team visited Zambia in April 2002 to explain to ex-combatants the disarmament, demobilisation and repatriation programme targeting members of foreign armed groups operating in the DRC. The return of the 17 men was the first such operation from Zambia, where around 150 ex-combatants have been identified among some 4,000 Rwandan refugees registered by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. MONUC has estimated that 13,000 Rwandan ex-combatants are operating in the DRC. They are mainly the remnants of the Interahamwe militia and the Forces armees Rwandaises (FAR), who took part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. MONUC has blamed continuing fighting in eastern DRC for hampering its demobilisation programme. Only 1,300 former fighters have been repatriated to Rwanda in the last six months.