KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) -- An active volcano spat out fire and rocks Saturday night near the eastern Congolese rebel stronghold at Goma, spreading panic among residents who thought they were under attack.

The Nyamuragira volcano, one of two straddling Rwanda's border with eastern Congo, became active Wednesday, when the rim turned red and occasional fire balls shot out, resembling the sound of artillery, residents said by telephone.

"We can see fire. People are waking up thinking they've been attacked," one resident, who identified himself only as Tenda, said. "Those near the volcano are leaving their homes."

Residents and an official at the Ugandan Consulate in Goma said Goma was not immediately threatened since the volcano's destruction had been directed toward Virunga National Park, on the opposite side of the populated area. However two neighborhoods had been evacuated, they said.

The two volcanoes have occasionally erupted since 1979, when the burning lava spilled into some sections of Goma and forced the town to temporarily evacuate.

The volcano turned active again in 1996 as more than 1 million Rwandan Hutu refugees began crossing back home into Rwanda, ending 2 1/2 years in exile in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Officials at the Seismological Institute in Goma could not immediately be reached for comment.

Rebels in Goma took up arms in August 1998 against President Laurent Kabila, taking control of the eastern half of Africa's third largest nation. Last summer, the rebels and Kabila concluded a peace accord with a shaky cease-fire agreement.