More than 450 Burundian refugees who had been living at the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda returned to their home country on Thursday, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
“The initial group of 493 men, women and children opted to voluntarily return to Burundi after living in exile for five years,” the UNHCR in Rwanda tweeted.
Rwandan media outlet The New Times reported that the refugees were all transported by buses from the camp and handed over to Burundian authorities at Nemba One-Stop Border Post.
An official with Rwanda’s Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) reiterated the nation’s commitment to repatriating refugees who were willing to return voluntarily.
“These are some of Burundian refugees who requested to be repatriated and we acted accordingly. In accordance with national and international laws, Rwanda will continue to facilitate any refugee willing to go back to his/her country of origin and protect those who wish to stay,” MINEMA’s Permanent Secretary Olivier Kayumba told journalists.
Kayumba added that officials from both countries will meet again to determine if Burundi is prepared to receive another group of refugees and coordinate the process with the UNHCR.
The repatriation comes in the wake of a letter written by refugees in the camp in July requesting President Evariste Ndayishimiye to liaise with the Rwandan government and the UNHCR to come up with a framework that will see them return to their homeland.
President Ndayishimiye, who succeeded the late Pierre Nkurunziza, struck a conciliatory tone in June by inviting Burundians living in exile to return and build a new nation.
Rwanda hosts more than 70,000 refugees from Burundi according to figures from the UNHCR in March.
Thousands of people fled Burundi in 2015 when violence erupted after Nkurunziza controversially declared that he will vie for a third term in office. Unrest in the country in subsequent years saw many others flee to neighbouring countries.
