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Transit site closes in Rwanda as last Burundians leave
9 Sep 2005 A year after it received the first of hundreds of refugees from Burundi, Gikonko transit site in southern Rwanda has closed as the refugees either opt to return home with UNHCR assistance or to move to a nearby camp. -
Rwandan women lead the way home from Brazzaville
25 Aug 2005 Rwandan refugees Faustine and Immaculée recently joined a group on a go-and-see visit to Rwanda, and returned to their host country, the Republic of the Congo, to share their observations on how life has improved back home. They plan to be on the next airlift back to Rwanda. -
New agreement paves way home for Burundians from Rwanda
19 Aug 2005 Thousands of Burundian refugees could be on their way home under a tripartite agreement on voluntary repatriation from Rwanda signed between the two governments and the UN refugee agency yesterday. -
Rwandan refugees come out of the woods in Kivu region
4 Aug 2005 Through 20 assembly points in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR has been repatriating a monthly average of 800 Rwandan refugees who had been hiding for over a decade in the dense forests of the Kivus. -
UNHCR urges Burundi to stop involuntary returns
14 Jun 2005 Some 5,000 Rwandan asylum seekers have been taken home from Burundi in what UNHCR considers involuntary returns that violate the principle of non-refoulement. The refugee agency is concerned that 2,000 Rwandans still in Burundi and 7,000 Burundians in Rwanda could be sent home shortly. -
Burundi camp now empty after government sends Rwandans home
13 Jun 2005 Thousands of Rwandans who had sought asylum in Burundi have now been returned home from Songore transit centre. Although alarmed, UNHCR has been unable to verify if they went home voluntarily as the refugee agency has been denied access to the centre. -
UNHCR concerned as Rwandans converge on Burundi transit centre
31 May 2005 Thousands of Rwandan asylum seekers are being moved to Songore transit centre after their border sites were dismantled and another transit centre was closed. Songore is ill-equipped to host the new arrivals, who will have to live in the open until the centre is expanded in the coming weeks. -
Sharp rise in Rwandan returnees from Congolese forest
24 May 2005 The number of Rwandan refugees returning home from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased dramatically since a Rwandan rebel group's recent announcement that it would disarm and go home peacefully. UNHCR is setting up more assembly points to facilitate returns. -
Intimidation reported as Rwandans return from Burundi
13 May 2005 UNHCR has raised serious concerns over reports from some Rwandan asylum seekers in Burundi that indicate physical and verbal intimidation are being used to force them to go home. The refugee agency has been unable to monitor these returns as most of them happen during curfew hours.