The Rwandan authorities have begun evicting about ten-thousand families from houses they have been occupying in the capital, Kigali, since their owners fled the country after the genocide in 1994.

The semi-official Rwandan news agency said those evicted were being given land, tents, iron sheeting and other materials to help them build new houses, while the occupied ones were handed back to their legal owners.

The agency said the population of Kigali was thought to have more than doubled since 1994 to about half a million, exacerbating a housing crisis.

The government began a similar campaign nationwide last October, but it has proved difficult to implement.

Many of the Hutus who fled have now returned and tried to reclaim their property.