Three thousand to 4,000 Congolese refugees were camped out Wednesday in front of a U.N. office in western Rwanda, demanding better living conditions at their camp.
The refugees refused to go after marching out of the Kiziba camp on Tuesday and protesting in front of the office of UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, in the Karongi district.
The army used live ammunition to break up the protest. The protesters said soldiers shot at them and wounded at least two people.
Rwanda has launched an investigation into what sparked the protest.
In a statement, Jean Claude Rwahama, director of refugee affairs in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, said "refugee representatives have been meeting camp management, local authorities, as well as U.N. partner agencies to discuss the cause of Tuesday's incident."
Rwandan officials blamed the refugees for provoking the violence.
"It is unfortunate that some refugees resorted to violence even as local authorities and security personnel were working to find a solution to their grievances," said Rwahama.
Earlier Wednesday, a UNHCR official told refugees there was nothing the agency could do for them unless they returned to the camp. He said the issue was now in the hands of the government.
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