An armed group of mostly Rwandan Hutus in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is accused of killing 18 civilians, mutilating 11 others and taking around 50 hostages on Monday.

The number of Rwandan refugees returning home from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has increased dramatically since a Rwandan rebel group announced recently that it would disarm and go home peacefully, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday.

Rwandan Hutu rebels based in eastern Congo are responsible for hundreds of summary executions, rapes, beatings and hostage-taking of Congolese civilians in the territory of Walungu, South Kivu Province, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC, said on Wednesday in a report documenting the human rights violations.

The leader of thousands of Rwandan Hutu militiamen based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ignace Murwanashyaka, arrived in the eastern town of Bukavu on Wednesday, a month and half after he signed a declaration vowing to end the armed struggle against the government of Rwanda.

New refugees have been fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Rwanda since April causing crowding in Rwandan border centres, according the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which has begun transferring the existing refugees to a camp farther inland.

Leaders of a Rwandan armed group operating from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced on Thursday their intention to end attacks against their homeland, according to the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.