01/11/2013 11:53 GMT
BUKAVU, DR Congo, Jan 11, 2013 (AFP) - Denis Mukwege, founder of a pioneering rape victims' hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo who was forced into exile after a bid on his life, will return home on Monday, his clinic announced Friday.
The award-winning gynaecologist narrowly escaped being murdered on October 25 after a group of armed men broke into his home in Bukavu, the chief town in the unstable South Kivu province.
"Doctor Denis Mukwege and his family are expected to return to Bukavu on January 14," the Panzi hospital said in a statement.
"It's the doctor himself who has taken this decision after getting more and more information saying there is a big demand from the sick and that women are calling for his return," it said.
Both the local and international communities have strongly condemned the attack on Mukwege.
After initially fleeing in the wake of the attack to Sweden - where he remained for just a few days - the doctor and his family have since been exiled in Belgium.
"As soon as I have enough protection, my objective is to return as soon as possible," Mukwege said after meeting with the European Commission in Brussels at the beginning of November.
The hosptial statement stressed that the facility and the Swedish Pentecostal Mission for Development, which helps to finance Mukwege's activities, are demanding "active and concrete" participation from Congolese authorities and the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo to "guarantee the safety of the hospital, its staff, its patients and Doctor Denis Mukwege."
Mukwege set up the Panzi hospital and foundation to help thousands of women who have been raped in the strife-torn east of the DR Congo by members of local and foreign armed groups, as well as by soldiers in the army. Every year, the hospital's main programme for the victims of sexual violence takes in around 3,000 women.
The doctor's work has earned him numerous nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has also been honoured with an award from the United Nations for his human rights activities.
Police are still investigating the attack by unidentified gunmen.
str-hab/ln/nb/jz