by Admin
Jan 29, 2025
Three hundred foreign mercenaries hired by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to counter the rapid advance of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have surrendered and were en route to their home countries on Wednesday.
The surrender came after M23 fighters captured Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC. This forced the mercenaries—alongside remnants of the Congolese army and allied militias—into a precarious position against Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border.
With no viable escape route, the mercenaries surrendered themselves to United Nations peacekeepers in Goma, who facilitated their transit home through neighboring Rwanda.
“We are just relieved because we can finally go home … it’s a big relief,” said one of the mercenaries, identifying himself as a Romanian who had spent nearly two years in Goma. Speaking to Reuters as he crossed into Rwanda, he declined to reveal his name but described the devastation in Goma as a result of the conflict between “the Rwandans and the Congolese.”
Kigali has consistently denied allegations of backing M23 but maintains that it has taken what it calls defensive measures in response to the conflict. Rwanda has also accused the Congolese government of collaborating with groups responsible for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
The mercenaries, recruited to reinforce Congo’s underfunded and weakened army, were tasked with operating high-tech military drones.
However, according to an analysis by the International Crisis Group, Rwandan air defenses effectively neutralized these drones, rendering them largely ineffective in combat.
Congo enlisted the services of Agemira RDC, a subsidiary of a Bulgarian-based parent company, to provide logistical support.
Additionally, it contracted Congo Protection, a military training firm led by a former member of the French Foreign Legion, said Henry-Pacifique Mayala of the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), which monitors unrest in the region.
Mayala noted that a lack of coordination between these military contractors and other forces on the ground ultimately exacerbated the conflict rather than improved Congo’s military response.