REFUGEE CRISIS LOOMS AS REBELS, TROOPS SEIZE ZAIRIAN TOWN.

Byline: James C. McKinley The New York Times

The town of Goma fell to Zairian rebels and Rwandan troops Saturday morning. The United Nations evacuated its foreign staff, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees in nearby camps with only a few days of food and warfare raging all around them.

``It was just too dangerous,'' said Panos Moumtzis, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency. ``It was a complete breakdown of law and order.''

But the evacuation of relief workers and the severing of food supply lines by the fighting is a disaster for the refugees of the Hutu ethnic group who have been living in camps around Goma for two years. The rebels are members of the Tutsi group, which controls the Rwandan army that the refugees fled into Zaire to escape.

``This is a horrific situation for the refugees,'' said Michele Quintaglie, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program.

People in Goma said the Zairian army retreated from the town about 7 a.m., after battling a rebel force for most of the previous day and early Saturday morning. Aid workers who were evacuated Saturday said dozens of Rwandan troops had been seen on patrol in Goma on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Throughout the morning, rebel soldiers and Rwandan troops fought street battles with the few Zairian troops and police officers who had not fled or who were trapped in the town. Most of the streets were deserted and quiet. But every few minutes there were bursts of machine-gun fire and grenade blasts.

``We've just taken Goma,'' said the leader of one Tutsi rebel patrol, who would not give his name. ``The Zairians have gone. We took Mount Goma yesterday.''

As the army withdrew, local Zairians looted the stores along the main streets, taking everything from bicycle tires to refrigerators and crates of beer. No one was sure who was in charge of the town. The border post was abandoned. A few people straggled down the street toward Rwanda with suitcases. Anarchy reigned. The looters threw Zairian bills, which are nearly valueless, into the street like confetti.

``I don't know who is in control,'' said Leonard Kiza, 41, a gardener. ``It might be the rebels. There was much fighting here. The Zairian soldiers left here around 7 a.m., going west, toward Sake.''

The rebellion in Kivu Province started on Oct. 13, when Zairian Tutsis took up arms against the government, resisting a move to expel them from the country. In recent days, Tutsi rebels from the Masisi region have been bearing down on Goma. They have apparently been joined by other ethnic groups like the Hunde and Nande, who also dislike the local government.

Zaire has accused Rwanda of being behind the revolt and of fighting alongside the guerrilla groups. Rwanda has steadfastly denied the accusations. But it was clear Saturday that Rwandan artillery and gunboats had helped the rebel advance.

At 10:30 Saturday morning, more than 130 U.N. employees and aid workers crossed the border from Zaire into Rwanda in a convoy of more than 40 white four-wheel-drive cars. They had been pinned down in two houses owned by the United Nations since noon Friday, while heavy artillery pounded Goma from guns in Rwanda and Tutsi guerrillas traded fire with Zaire's troops.

Rifle rounds hammered the outside of the United Nations houses, and aid workers hunkered down in basements and hallways, passing an uncomfortable and terrifying night.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Map

Photo: (1) Tutsi refugees board a U.N. truck to be transferred to another camp from the town of Gisenyi, Rwanda, amid fighting for control of Goma.

(2) A Tutsi refugee girl cries as she waits to be taken from Gisenyi.

Associated Press 

Map: Goma, (Zaire)

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