Refugees and surrendering Congolese soldiers stream into Rwanda

By Thomas Mukoya

GISENYI, Rwanda (Reuters) - Refugees, surrendering Congolese soldiers and stranded truckers thronged the Rwandan border on Tuesday, hoping to reach safety after rebels captured the nearby Congolese city of Goma and spurred them to flee.

Gunfire and explosions could be heard from Goma late on Monday and early on Tuesday in Rubavu district on Rwanda's northeast frontier with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Through the night, people waited on the Congo side of the border, laden with mattresses and the few belongings they could grab as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced on Goma.

At daylight on Tuesday, Rwanda began admitting them, some holding their hands aloft in joyful thanks as they walked across the border.

"We saw and heard terrible things. Dead bodies, gunshots, bombs," said Alois Emmanuel Bebe, a Tanzanian trucker among a group of 47 drivers seeking refuge in Rwanda after they were cut off by fighting in eastern Congo.

An escalation of the three-year insurgency in Congo since the start of the year has forced around 400,000 people from their homes.

As in previous security crises in the rebel-torn region, some refugees have headed to Rwanda even as Congo and the United Nations accuse the neighbour of fuelling the conflict with its own troops and weapons.

Shouldering colourfully-wrapped bundles, families waited on Tuesday to be registered at an open-air refugee reception centre in the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi. Small children clung to the skirts of their mothers, some of whom also had babies strapped to their backs or fronts.

Elsewhere, the Rwandan authorities processed a number of Congolese soldiers.

In a large hall in Gisenyi, dozens of men sat on the floor under the watch of members of the Rwanda Defence Force. Some wore army boots and fatigues with the Congolese insignia while others were in civilian clothes. A few received treatment for cuts and minor injuries.

Rwandan regional ambassador Vincent Karega said 102 Congolese soldiers had surrendered by voluntarily crossing into Rwanda on Monday.

"More continue to cross today. They run away from the battles," he told Reuters, adding that they would be treated like other refugees once disarmed and registered.

"They will return home at will when it suits them, or decide to go into exile in Rwanda or elsewhere."

It is not yet clear how many citizens and soldiers have fled to Rwanda in recent days. Congolese citizens accounted for over 56% of the 114,461 refugees there as of November, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

The Congolese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Additional reporting by Sonia Rolley in Paris; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)