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Rwanda demobilised 1,389 members of its defence forces on Tuesday, in a move aimed at cutting military spending, a government official told IRIN.
The information officer for the National Demobilisation Programme, Florence Abatoni, said the demobilised soldiers would undergo a two-week an orientation programme to prepare them for civilian life.
Demobilisation officials briefed the soldiers, including 11 commissioned officers, on the government's economic, social and political programmes. The soldiers were also trained on the establishment of income-generating activities.
"We want them to be productive members of society who should contribute positively to the overall development of their country," Abatoni said.
The latest demobilisation brings to 35,284 the number of former members of the Rwanda Defence Forces who have been demobilised since the programme began in 1997. Abatoni said each demobilised soldier received a "basic needs kit" of items worth US $90 and a cash payment, whose amount depended on rank, to help them settle in their communities.
The National Demobilisation Programme also handles the demobilisation of members of the former government forces, the Force Armees Rwandaise (ex-FAR). The ex-FAR and a militia known as "Interahamwe" have largely been accused of carrying out the 1994 genocide, which claimed the lives of 937,000 people, according to Rwandan government figures.
Most of these ex-FAR fled to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, from where they have continued to launch attacks against Rwanda.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
