GISENYI, Rwanda, Jan 30, (AP): Many of the millions of people trapped in eastern Congo's escalating rebellion face a terrible choice: Retreat into Congo's interior and seek the protection of a weak army in disarray, or cross into nearby Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels. The largely unchecked rebel advance that seized Goma, the region's largest city, this week has raised fresh questions about the inability of Congolese troops and their allies to protect civilians as a decades-long African war revives almost 1,000 miles from Congo's capital - and a short walk from Rwanda.

"On one hand, you have a foreign force that you cannot trust fully. On another side, you have a weaker army, corrupt,” said Imani Zawadi, who fled into Rwanda from a village in the outskirts of Goma, a city of 2 million. "So you have nobody to trust.” Her fears encapsulated those of many Congolese uprooted by the M23 rebels' violence over the years.

Already more than 1,200 Congolese - including some surrendering soldiers - have sought refuge in Rwanda since the rebels marched into Goma, closing the airport and overwhelming hospitals with casualties. This time, there are concerns that the M23 will hold Goma as a sort of buffer zone as Rwanda essentially redraws the border with its vastly bigger neighbor in a region estimated to have trillions of dollars in largely untapped mineral wealth like cobalt and gold.

Rebel leaders say they plan to set up an administration in the city. The rebels have claimed multiple victories at the expense of a larger Congolese army that has the support of a 14,000-strong UN peacekeeping force as well as troops from African countries deployed under a regional bloc. There are even Romanian military contractors that Rwandan authorities describe as mercenaries.

One of the Romanians knelt on the ground, hands behind his head, as rebels sought to usher him and others toward the border crossing. "We are fighting for the future of our children. Sit down. On the ground,” M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma told him. Ngoma said 289 mercenaries were escorted into Rwanda and sent "home,” as a line of UN peacekeepers watched. The M23 spokesperson called the rebels "a people’s army” that would bring peace.