KIGALI, Rwanda 

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) said Tuesday that it repatriated 34 Rwandans, including 15 ex-combatants from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebel group.

The repatriation was done through MONUSCO’s disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and stabilization section, and those repatriated included 19 members of the former rebels’ families, UN radio in Congo reported.

The latest repatriation, confirmed by a Rwandan official, brings the total to 60 people, including 33 ex-combatants, the report said.

The returnees were repatriated through the Congo-Rwanda common border between Goma city and Rubavu district in Rwanda, where they were welcomed by Rwandan authorities.

There has been an increase in voluntary surrenders among Rwandan rebels in the outskirts of Goma in North Kivu province in recent months following the capture of the city by M23 rebels last year, according to MONUSCO.

Nearly 300 people have been repatriated since last year under the disarmament and demobilization program.

The repatriation is in line with a peace deal signed by Congo and Rwanda last June in Washington aimed at bringing peace in volatile eastern Congo through the neutralization of armed groups.

FDLR elements have operated in Congo for decades and are believed to be still active in eastern Congo’s Masisi, Rutshuru and Walikale localities, according to media reports.

MONUSCO says it has strengthened mobilization to ensure surrender and voluntary repatriation of the rebels.

Rwanda regards the FDLR as a terrorist group whose elements are linked to the genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in 1994.

Amid tensions between Rwanda and Congo over M23 rebels, Kigali has said the FDLR’s demobilization and repatriation is “a non-negotiable requirement to protect Rwanda’s territorial integrity.”