Rwanda wants the United Nations to help it decide the fate of some 680 former M23 rebels who fled into the country after engaging government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The country has made several pleas to the UN to take responsibility for the fleeing combatants — or at least help Rwanda to feed and maintain the group, which is being held in a camp.

The rebels, who include the former M23 political leader Bishop Jean Marie Runiga and one of its top military commanders, Col Baudoin Ngaruye, entered Rwanda in February after fleeing from the fighting between two different factions of the movement.

READ: Rwanda offers asylum to former M23 rebels

They are now being held at an internment camp in Ngoma district in the country’s Eastern Province.

The latest appeal was made by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo when she addressed a special United Nations Security Council session on the Great Lakes Region on Thursday. She said her country could not continue to “bear the burden” alone.

“The government of Rwanda reported the presence of several high-ranking M23 members who crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo to seek refuge in Rwanda, including UN-sanctioned individuals,” Minister Mushikiwabo said, in reference to Gen Bosco Ntaganda.

She said that while Rwanda facilitated the transfer of Gen Ntaganda to The Hague where he faces charges before the International Criminal Court, it is stuck with the rest of the rebels, who have since been disarmed.

“We have disarmed, interned and relocated away from the DRC border more than 600 M23 combatants who crossed into Rwanda as a result of infighting in March 2013,” said Ms Mushikiwabo.

Ntaganda surrendered himself to the US embassy in Kigali about the same time the rebels entered the country and was handed over to The Hague-based International Criminal Court
In his report dated June 28, the Secretary-General commended Rwanda for the positive role it played in disarming Ntaganda’s troops.

READ: Ntaganda’s Hague sojourn sows panic in EA

“We have asked the United Nations to take responsibility for these combatants. It is important to note that Rwanda cannot bear this burden alone. We invite the international community to devise and implement a long-term solution for this group of former combatants,” Ms Mushikiwabo told the UN session.

Apart from the rebels, Rwanda also accommodates about 70,000 Congolese nationals who have sought refuge in the country. It now wants the UN to help ensure the refugees return home safely.

In an earlier letter to the UN in April, Rwanda’s Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, Seraphine Mukantabana, sought financial help to resettle and reintegrate the former rebels and other Congolese refugees entering Rwanda.

READ: Disquiet among Congo refugees over repatriation

Rwanda needs at least Rwf180 million ($277,391) to sustain the former rebels for at least six months before a decision is reached on whether to give them asylum. The money is required for food, non-food items, office furniture, kitchen items, water and sanitation facilities, and leisure and sport facilities.

The ministry says Rwanda is hosting the rebels in accordance with international conventions to protect refugees and endangered persons.

The former rebel group has been in Rwanda since February after they fled from intense fighting between the two factions of M23 — one led by Gen Sultani Makenga and the other by Bishop Jean Marie Runiga, who was reportedly linked to Ntaganda.

Rwanda, which has repeatedly denied accusations of supporting M23, maintains it is committed to the restoration of peace in the DRC.