KIGALI - Rwanda expects the first group of 50 asylum seekers to be transferred from the United Kingdom by the end of May, a government spokesperson said on Thursday.

In April the British government announced plans to send people seeking asylum to the East African country, but earlier this month said it expected lawyers to lodge claims to prevent their removal.

"According to the information we have, the first batch of migrants will arrive by the end of the month, but... it is the British government that knows how many will come and when they will come," Rwanda's deputy government spokesman Alain Mukurarinda said.

(Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Estelle Shirbon)