GOMA, Congo (AP) — Hundreds of Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda were repatriated on Saturday, the U.N. refugee agency said, after Rwandan-backed rebels seized key parts of the region.
Most of the refugees were women and children, and 360 of them crossed the border in buses provided by Rwandan authorities and were escorted by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and aid group Save the Children, local authorities said. The goal is to repatriate 2,000 people, UNHCR said.
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Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide wait for repatriation from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Hundreds of Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
“We are happy to welcome our compatriots. They are a valuable workforce for the country’s development,” said Prosper Mulindwa, the Rwandan mayor of Rubavu, during a brief ceremony at the border.
The returnees were transported to a transit center where they will receive emergency assistance and support for reintegration.
They were among the hundreds of thousands of Hutus who fled Rwanda after the state-sponsored 1994 genocide that left up to a million minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. Most had returned when Tutsi-led Rwandan troops first invaded Congo in 1996. But Rwandan authorities said thousands of Hutu militiamen and ex-soldiers had stayed and joined Congo's army to destabilize Rwanda.
For decades, mineral-rich eastern Congo has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict and worsened an already acute humanitarian crisis.
The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts.
Among the Rwandan returnees, personal testimonies highlighted journeys marked by exile and a deep connection to a homeland some have never known.
Nyirakajumba Twizere was born in 1996 in Congo and had never seen Rwanda.
“I never thought this day would come," he said. “I’m finally going back to the land of my ancestors.”
The repatriation is based on a tripartite agreement between Rwanda, Congo and UNHCR that has been in place for more than a decade. According to Rwandan authorities, more than 101,000 refugees have already been repatriated, including 1,500 since the beginning of 2025.
Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide wait for repatriation from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Hundreds of Rwandan refugees who were living in eastern Congo since the 1994 Rwanda genocide are repatriated by bus from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — The first plane carrying passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship left Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will be taken to a military hospital.
Spanish nationals were the first to leave the MV Hondius, which remains anchored off Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off West Africa's coast. The ship arrived hours earlier.
None of the more than 140 people on the Hondius has shown symptoms of the virus, Spain’s health ministry, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sought to reassure the public, repeating on Sunday that the risk for the general public from the outbreak remained low.
Even so, those disembarking and personnel working at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife wore protective gear during the evacuation process, including face masks, hazmat suits and respirators.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said that the operation was proceeding normally.
Passengers and some crew members from more than 20 nationalities on board will be evacuated throughout Sunday into Monday.
After reaching Madrid, those evacuated on the first plane will be under quarantine, Spanish health authorities say. Only the 14 Spanish nationals on board will quarantine in the country.
Authorities have said the passengers and crew members disembarking will be checked for symptoms, have no contact with the local population and will only be taken off the ship once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to their destinations. Tedros and Spain’s health and interior ministers are supervising the operation in Tenerife.
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday thanked the Canary Islands for allowing the arrival of the Hondius.
Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.
Passengers and crew members disembarking are leaving behind their luggage, and are allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, a charger, and documentation.
Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.
The expected sailing time to Rotterdam is around five days, the cruise company said.
The U.S., the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens. Americans on board will be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska.
Twenty-nine people will be on board the Dutch charter flight, including Dutch nationals and people of other nationalities, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said.
Five French passengers will be repatriated Sunday, and will be hospitalized for 72 hours for monitoring, after which they will quarantine at home for 45 days, France's Foreign Ministry said.
U.K. passengers and crew will be hospitalized for observation once they are flown home, British authorities say.
Australia is sending a plane, expected to arrive on Monday, to evacuate its nationals and those from nearby countries such as New Zealand, García said. Its plane will be the last to leave Tenerife, she said.
Norway has sent an ambulance plane to Tenerife with personnel trained to transport patients with high-risk infections, its Directorate for Civil Protection told public broadcaster NRK.
The ambulance plane is owned by the European Union, but operated by Norway.
British Army medics have parachuted onto the remote South Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha, where one of the 221 residents has a suspected case of hantavirus.
The patient was a passenger on the MV Hondius and disembarked last month.
The U.K. defense ministry says a team of six paratroopers and two medical clinicians jumped Saturday from a Royal Air Force transport plane, which also dropped oxygen and medical equipment.
Tristan da Cunha is Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory, about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the nearest inhabited island, St. Helena. The group of volcanic islands has no airstrip and is usually accessible only by boat on a six-day voyage from Cape Town, South Africa.
Meanwhile, a Spanish woman in the southeastern province of Alicante suspected of being infected tested negative for hantavirus, Spanish health authorities said Saturday.
The woman was a passenger on the same flight as the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg after traveling on the cruise ship.
Suman Naishadham reported from Madrid. Angela Charlton in Paris, Jill Lawless in London, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, contributed to this report.
British Army medics parachute onto the south Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha, where one of the 221 residents has a suspected case of hanatavirus, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (British Ministry of Defence via AP)
A Spanish government plane takes off with passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Arturo Rodriguez)
Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers sit inside a bus after being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers stand next to a Spanish government plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Arturo Rodriguez)
A passenger waves to the Guardia Civil officers as they are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers watch as others are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers stand on the deck of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers are being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
A Civil Guard border police stands guard following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Civil Guard border police officers following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers and crew at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A passenger stands at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Civil Guard officers patrol next to the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
View from the bridge of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
A passenger checks his camera inside his cabin on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
A passenger on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, takes a photo of the ship's weighing anchor in Praia, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Workers set up temporary shelters in the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaks to the media near the area where passengers from the MV Hondius are expected to arrive at the port of Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
