The Rwandan army has announced plans to demobilize three-and-a-half-thousand soldiers -- under a programme agreed with Western donors.

They include soldiers who volunteered to leave and men considered too old for active service.

A spokesman for the army Major Emmanuel Ndahiro told the BBC the aim was to make the Rwandan army smaller and more efficient.

He said the Rwandan authorities were, at the same time, continuing to integrate soldiers from the former government into the army -- as part of national reconciliation efforts.

The spokesman said a total of nine-thousand had now joined the military.

The Rwandan army is estimated to number about fifty-five thousand.