Trump Ally’s Forces Reportedly Ambushed in Congo — Former UFC Fighter Wounded

Screenshot via YouTube

Private military forces belonging to President Donald Trump ally and Blackwater founder Erik Prince were reportedly ambushed in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month, leaving roughly 20 people killed or injured.

According to a Friday report from Reuters, Prince’s security company, Vectus Global, was targeted in a Sept. 17 ambush in the country’s eastern South Kivu province.

At least seven Congolese nationals and a former New Zealand special forces member were among those killed, while former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy and another foreign contractor sustained injuries, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Kennedy, a former U.S. Green Beret who later competed professionally in mixed martial arts, was reportedly struck by three bullets in his leg. He is now receiving medical care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C.

The attack marked the company’s first reported casualties in the DRC, where Prince’s initial mission of securing revenue from the country’s mineral industry has since expanded to include military operations.

Earlier this year, Vectus personnel assisted Congolese troops in maintaining control of Uvira following a Washington-brokered withdrawal agreement involving Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Two sources cited by Reuters attributed this recent attack to Rwanda’s military, while another suggested Rwandan forces may have followed a surveillance drone to pinpoint the team’s location.

Rwanda has denied backing M23, despite the United Nations and Western governments accusing it of supporting the rebel group.

The outlet contacted representatives for the governments of the DRC and Rwanda, along with the M23 rebel group, but received no immediate responses.

A Vectus Global representative declined to comment, as did the U.S. State Department and Walter Reed. Kennedy’s parents also did not respond to requests for comment.

The Trump administration previously helped negotiate agreements intended to curb the fighting between the DRC and Rwanda-backed rebels, though the State Department has said it holds no contracts with Prince in the DRC.

Tonight, while speaking at a rally in Syracuse, New York, Trump repeated his claim that he ended the war in the region. Yet as top CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale pointed out on social media, “the war in the eastern DRC never ended despite a peace deal brokered by his administration that didn’t include the rebel coalition doing the fighting.”

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