{"id":4398,"date":"2026-10-09T08:36:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=4398"},"modified":"2026-10-09T08:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:36:36","slug":"returnees-cite-conflict-hardship-as-367-rwandans-come-home-from-congo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/09\/returnees-cite-conflict-hardship-as-367-rwandans-come-home-from-congo\/politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Returnees cite conflict, hardship as 367 Rwandans come home from Congo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/abatashye_biganjemo_abagore_ni_abana-0a3df.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/abatashye_biganjemo_abagore_ni_abana-0a3df.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/abatashye_biganjemo_abagore_ni_abana-0a3df-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/abatashye_biganjemo_abagore_ni_abana-0a3df-767x432.jpg 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three hundred and sixty-seven Rwandans returned home from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, Oct. 8, with some describing years of insecurity and hardship that made it difficult to build stable lives in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group arrived on Thursday, Oct. 8, through the La Corniche border crossing between Rubavu District and Goma, and the Rusizi I crossing linking Rusizi District with Bukavu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They comprised 113 families. Of these, 99 families, totalling 314 people, entered through La Corniche, while 14 families, comprising 53 people, crossed through Rusizi I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The returnees will be accommodated temporarily at the Kijote Transit Centre in Nyabihu District and receive basic assistance as authorities prepare to help them settle into normal life and reunite with relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Th\u00e9oneste Nsengiyumva said life in Congo had been difficult because residents lacked land and freedom, and armed groups sometimes took what they grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he had been told that Rwanda was peaceful and decided to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another returnee described how repeated fighting had disrupted efforts to establish a livelihood. He returned with four children, while four other children had married and remained in Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The returnees were welcomed by Rubavu District Vice Mayor for Economic Development D\u00e9ogratias Nzabonimpa, who assured them that government programmes would support their reintegration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said older returnees would receive assistance suited to their needs, while those able to work would be encouraged to pursue activities that could help them support their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nzabonimpa also pointed to the continued presence of the FDLR armed group in eastern Congo, saying it remained an obstacle to the return of some Rwandans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest arrivals add to more than 7,000 Rwandans who have returned in previous groups, according to the source report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three hundred and sixty-seven Rwandans returned home from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, Oct. 8, with some describing years of insecurity and hardship [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,34,5,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current_affairs","category-national","category-politics","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4400,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4398\/revisions\/4400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}