Congo refugees begin returning home despite uncertainty ahead
Anociata Nyiranzarura prepares food for her displaced family at a schoolyard shelter after M23 rebels forced them from Kalenga village in Sake, North Kivu, DRC on March 13, 2025.
In the lush green hills of Mushaki, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), signs of a cautious yet hopeful return are starting to surface. Several villages in this conflict-stricken region are preparing to receive thousands of Congolese refugees who fled to Rwanda during decades of violence.
This movement came against a backdrop of shifting security and political dynamics, especially since the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group occupied large chunks of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in late January.
