Congo-Kinshasa: DR Congo

A total of 288 European mercenaries who were fighting alongside Congolese government army (FARDC) were repatriated to their home country, Romania.

The mercenaries who had been hired by the Congolese government to fight M23 rebels left the Kigali International Airport on Saturday, February 1, following their defeat and surrender.

The group arrived in Rubavu District, which borders DR Congo, on January 29, after being disarmed in Goma – the eastern DR Congo city that was captured earlier this week by M23 rebels.

They were given free passage through Rwanda to be flown to their country.

The group was transported by bus on Tuesday and taken directly to Kigali International Airport pending their flight to their country. It is not clear if they have been at the airport since they were transported to Kigali.

ALSO READ: DR Congo: European mercenaries surrender to M23, get safe passage through Rwanda

The mercenaries were fighting alongside the Congolese army (FARDC), with a coalition of other rebels including the genocidal FDLR, as well as forces from the Southern African regional bloc, SADC, and Burundi.

It is believed that the Kinshasa government had hired up to 2000 mercenaries in its battle against M23 rebels, paying them thousands of dollars.

A recent investigation by BBC indicated that each mercenary was pocketing at least $5,000 per month, while a Congolese soldier is believed to earn less than $100 in the same period.

Before being handed over to Rwandan authorities at La Corniche One Stop Border Post, M23 military leader, Col Willy Ngoma lectured them that the rebel group was fighting for the dignity and future of Congolese people, cautioning them against “adventurous” acts in the country.

ALSO READ: DR Congo: Rwanda calls for neutralisation of FDLR, withdrawal of foreign troops

ALSO READ: Timeline of events before and after M23 captured Goma

Following their defeat and the fall of Goma, the mercenaries fled to MONUSCO compound, where the UN peacekeepers protected them, after which their governments requested Rwanda to facilitate their evacuation, through Kigali.

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Foreign Affairs Minister, said that Rwanda was the only country in the world to sound the alarm on the recruitment and use of European mercenaries by Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi in total violation of a 1977 OAU Convention and a 1989 UN Convention.

ALSO READ: Rwanda concerned over 2,000 mercenaries in DR Congo, Kinshasa-backed FDLR

The Congolese government described the Europeans serving within the FARDC ranks as ‘consultants,’ after facing several criticisms.

“Neither the UN Security Council nor the European Union, let alone the countries of origin of these mercenaries, ever condemned the outsourcing of this war, by the government of Kinshasa, to these ‘barbouzes’,” said Nduhungirehe.