Refugees, Soldiers, and Truckers Flee as Rebels Seize Goma

Summary:

• Gunfire and explosions echoed across the border late Monday and early Tuesday, heard from Rubavu district in Rwanda’s northeast, as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced on Goma.

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GISENYI: Refugees, surrendering Congolese soldiers, and stranded truckers crowded the Rwandan border on Tuesday, seeking safety after rebels seized the nearby Congolese city of Goma.

Gunfire and explosions echoed across the border late Monday and early Tuesday, heard from Rubavu district in Rwanda’s northeast, as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced on Goma.

Throughout the night, people waited on the Congolese side, carrying mattresses and the few belongings they could salvage. At dawn, Rwanda began admitting them. Some raised their hands in gratitude as they crossed to safety.

“We saw and heard terrible things—dead bodies, gunshots, bombs,” said Alois Emmanuel Bebe, a Tanzanian trucker among 47 drivers who fled after being cut off by the fighting in eastern Congo.

The latest escalation in the three-year insurgency has already displaced around 400,000 people. As in previous conflicts, some refugees fled to Rwanda, even as Congo and the United Nations accuse its neighbor of fueling the crisis by supplying troops and weapons to the M23 rebels.

In the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi, families carrying colorfully wrapped bundles waited to be registered at an open-air refugee reception center. Small children clung to their mothers, some of whom had babies strapped to their backs or fronts.

Elsewhere, Rwandan authorities processed a number of Congolese soldiers who had surrendered. In a large hall in Gisenyi, dozens of men sat on the floor under the watch of Rwanda Defence Force personnel.

Some wore Congolese army fatigues and boots, while others were in civilian clothing. A few received treatment for minor injuries.

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

“More continue to cross today. They are fleeing the battles,” he said, adding that they would be treated as refugees once disarmed and registered.

“They will return home when they choose, or they may seek asylum in Rwanda or elsewhere,” he added.

It remains unclear how many civilians and soldiers have fled to Rwanda in recent days. As of November, Congolese citizens made up over 56% of the 114,461 refugees in Rwanda, according to the U.N. refugee agency.