Ambush on Erik Prince's Congo force wounds Tim Kennedy

An ambush on private contractors working for Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on September 17 killed at least seven Congolese nationals and a former New Zealand special forces soldier, and left Tim Kennedy, a former UFC fighter and Army Green Beret, with three gunshot wounds.

Reuters reported the attack on October 9, more than three weeks after it happened, citing sources briefed on the operation. Kennedy was working for Vectus Global, the private security and consulting company through which Prince operates in Congo. Until the Reuters account, the involvement of Prince's forces and the scale of the casualties had not been reported.

The attack has not been officially confirmed, Stars and Stripes reported, and neither the circumstances of the ambush nor the extent of Kennedy's injuries have been independently confirmed. Kennedy, 47, did not immediately respond to an email from the newspaper seeking comment.

The attack in South Kivu

The ambush happened in South Kivu province, in the east of the country, where Congolese government forces have been fighting the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. A source with direct knowledge of the operation told Reuters that the Vectus Global team was traveling between locations when it was attacked.

About 20 people were killed or wounded, according to the sources. At least seven Congolese nationals and a former member of New Zealand's special forces were among the dead, and Kennedy and another foreign contractor were wounded. A Congolese security source said villagers were likely among the roughly 20 people killed or wounded.

Brent Tucker, a former Delta Force operator, described the attack on October 8 on his Tier1 Podcast, and the New Zealand Herald published its own account the next day, Stars and Stripes reported. Tucker said the contractors were shot multiple times and waited hours for evacuation.

He was in a three-man element. There will be more information of this, but as of right now, we will call it an ambush.

Kennedy was shot three times in the leg and survived, three sources told Reuters. The evacuation took nearly eight hours, MMA Weekly reported.

He is being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington. The medical center and the State Department declined to comment on his condition, and his parents did not respond to Reuters.

The team and its mission

Justin Conaglen, a former soldier in New Zealand's Special Air Service, was killed in the ambush, the war correspondent Robert Young Pelton told the New Zealand Herald. Conaglen, a former lance corporal, took leave without pay from the New Zealand military in March and left the service in August, the newspaper reported.

Pelton said the contractors were working on an operation to protect mining revenues, combat smuggling and collect taxes for the Congolese government, and that Kennedy was medically evacuated to the United States after the attack.

Vectus Global declined Reuters' request for comment, and a source with direct knowledge of its operations in Congo said the company had not previously suffered casualties in the country.

The size of the force Vectus Global maintains in the country remains unclear, more than three weeks after the ambush.

A third member of the team was wounded and survived, MMA Weekly reported, and has not been publicly identified. The outlet described Kennedy's condition as stable. What he was doing in the country remains unclear, Sherdog reported.

Vectus Global also works in Haiti and elsewhere in Africa, and Prince is an ally of President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

Suspicion falls on Rwanda

One source working with the Congolese government told Reuters that Rwandan forces backing M23 may have located the team by tracking a surveillance drone back to its operators. Another source with direct knowledge of the attack said its sophistication suggested Rwandan forces were involved, and two more sources blamed the Rwandan military directly.

Those allegations have not been independently confirmed, and representatives for the governments of Congo and Rwanda, as well as M23, did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The New Zealand Herald cited speculation linking the operation to a private security company associated with Prince and to a possible confrontation with Russia's Africa Corps, Sherdog reported. Neither claim has been confirmed.

Prince's expanding role in Congo

Prince's involvement in Congo began with the country's mineral wealth. Reuters reported in April 2025 that he had reached an agreement with the Congolese government aimed at improving mineral-tax collection and curbing cross-border smuggling. His role later expanded to the front lines.

In February, Reuters reported that Prince had deployed private security personnel and drone operators to help Congolese forces secure Uvira, a strategic city near the Burundi border, after Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels withdrew. That was the first known frontline involvement of his personnel in the country. The State Department said at the time that the U.S. government had no contracts with Prince or his companies in Congo.

Kennedy's record before Congo

Kennedy enlisted in the Army in January 2004. He told Stars and Stripes in June 2010 that he had been studying criminal justice with plans to join the FBI while starting his professional fighting career, and that he decided to pursue Army Special Forces after the September 11 attacks. He moved from active duty to the Texas Army National Guard in 2009, TMZ reported.

He served in Army Special Forces and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a sniper. A July 2025 report by Military.com said he was then serving part-time in a Maryland National Guard special operations detachment.

Kennedy competed in mixed martial arts from 2001 to 2016 and compiled an 18-6 record over a 15-year career, TMZ reported. He fought in the WEC, Strikeforce and the UFC, going 3-2 in the UFC with wins over Roger Gracie, Rafael Natal and Michael Bisping, GiveMeSport reported. He twice fought for the Strikeforce middleweight title.

In July 2025 Kennedy admitted he had falsely implied that his Bronze Star was awarded for valor, and the Maryland National Guard opened an investigation. He is a father of four and has built a large social media and podcast following.

Rwanda has denied supporting M23, and the United Nations and Western governments have accused it of backing the group. On March 2 the Treasury Department sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior officials over their support for M23. Treasury said the Rwandan military had been supporting, training and fighting alongside the group, and had helped it capture territory including Goma, Bukavu and strategic mining sites.

An African Union delegation met AFC/M23 leaders on October 5 and called for continued engagement in peace negotiations, Reuters reported on October 7. Diplomatic efforts have continued without ending the fighting. Recent clashes have remained concentrated in parts of South Kivu's highlands and in North Kivu's Masisi territory, despite mediation efforts by the United States, the African Union and Qatar.