Are White Mercenaries Fighting in the DR Congo? DRC
M23 rebels are not leaving areas as agreed according to President Felix Tshisekedi. He also accused the rebels of faking their withdrawal, according toreports that Eastern European military personnel are staying at a hotel near the airport of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The presence of white-armed men sparked rumours that the government hired the notorious Russian mercenary Wagner Group to help fight the rebels. Diplomatic circles have been speculating for weeks on the meaning of the presence of these armed Eastern European men in Goma amid a new round of fighting in eastern DRC.
The war erupted last spring after Tutsi rebels of the M23 seized a vast swath of land along the border with neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. The Congo's army has been incurring heavy losses in the fighting. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has consistently denied the presence of Wagner mercenaries on his country's territory.
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Congo-Kinshasa: Are White Mercenaries Fighting in the DRC Conflict?Analysis - Western diplomats are deeply worried about the sudden appearance of Eastern European mercenaries in the volatile eastern Congo. Despite denials by Kinshasa, rumors abound that it hired the notorious Russian Wagner Group.
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Are White Mercenaries Fighting in the DR Congo?Located on an unpaved side street near the international airport of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Hotel Mbiza usually caters to businesspeople or government delegations from the capital, Kinshasa. But since around Christmas of 2022, white military personnel from Eastern Europe have fully booked the hotel. The presence of white-armed men at the Mbiza Hotel sparked rumors that the government hired the notorious Russian mercenary Wagner Group to help fight the rebels. Diplomatic circles have been speculating for weeks on the meaning of the presence of these armed Eastern European men in Goma amid a new round of fighting in eastern DRC.The war erupted last spring after Tutsi rebels of the M23 (March 23 Movement) seized a vast swath of land along the border with neighboring Rwanda and Uganda. The Congo's army has been incurring heavy losses in the fighting. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has consistently denied the presence of Wagner mercenaries on his country's territory. "I know it's fashionable now," he had said in a recent interview, adding: "No, we don't have to use mercenaries." The government recently explained why it does not need to hire Wagner's mercenaries. "If we get Sukhoi aircraft [Russian fighter planes], we need the technical personnel to maintain them. If we don't have that manpower, what do we do?" said Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya. The Wagner Group is seen as Russia's "shadow army". It is stationed at the frontlines in the Ukraine war and has been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity there. In Africa, Wagner mercenaries have been hired to help fight Islamist insurgents in Mali and rebels in the Central African Republic.
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