DRC's ambush

The Tim Kennedy Congo ambush is stranger than the headlines... a Blackwater founder's contract, a war over the metals in your phone, and a Green Beret who was still in the National Guard

A former UFC star, a New Zealand SAS veteran and a third operator, caught in a firefight in Congo on Sept. 17...

Tim Kennedy reportedly took multiple rounds, including three to the leg, and was flown home in stable condition after an evacuation that reportedly took nearly 8 HOURS.

Justin Conaglen, who had left New Zealand's military just a month earlier, was killed, and New Zealand has opened an investigation.

So why were they there?

Congo sits on some of the world's richest deposits of cobalt, copper and gold, the metals inside every phone and electric car battery, and its east has been at war for decades.

The biggest player is M23, a rebel group the UN says is backed by neighboring Rwanda, which seized two major eastern cities last year.

Reports tie the team to Vectus Global, a firm linked to Blackwater founder Erik Prince, which Congo's government reportedly hired to help protect its mining revenue.

Reports within the special operations community even points to Russia's Africa Corps, the outfit that took over Wagner's operations, though nobody has shown proof.

Then there's Kennedy himself. As of last year he was still a part-time master sergeant in Maryland's National Guard, so if that hasn't changed, a serving US soldier was wounded working a private security job for a foreign government.

So who signed off on that, and who answers for it now?

Source: The New Zealand Herald, Reuters, MMA Weekly, MilitaryCom /
Writer: Daniel

The war in eastern Congo is now being fought on a technological level, more so than on infantry (soldiers):

1. The M23 traced the signal of a drone piloted by Erik Prince's mercenaries, followed it, and discovered their base! They attacked the base by surprise, with a toll of 20 dead and wounded, including wazalendo, FARDC, a former New Zealand soldier, and another American: this is a maneuver that very few armies could pull off. This should not be overlooked!

2. The FARDC have drones, Pegasus-style spyware programs that can hack any phone, D4 anti-drone systems purchased in India, and mercenaries from multiple nationalities to manage these systems. The FARDC's latest acquisitions will arrive between December and January. A new $65 million contract will be awarded to the mercenary Erik Prince for managing the FARDC's air war.

3. The FARDC benefit from U.S. intelligence and training collaboration in exchange for critical minerals. This is no small support in this war. The Kisangani drone piloting center is nearly fully operational again, after being destroyed a few months ago.

4. AFC/M23 has also invested millions in drone protection systems and cybersecurity against infiltrations. They now have drones as well, capable of striking from a distance.

5. The FARDC have the support of the Burundian and Tanzanian armies.

In short, at this stage, whoever wins the war should have good coordination between technology and infantry!

A sincere negotiation remains the best solution! All wars end with negotiations!

From Paris, Rodriguez Katsuva.