War and minerals: Erik Prince and paramilitaries in DR Congo

(AFP) — U.S. businessman Erik Prince and his mercenaries have emerged as key players in war-torn Congo, fighting for its government as Washington vies for strategic minerals in the country, researchers and local sources told AFP.Numerous foreign paramilitaries have been seen in the vast, unstable Central African country, where locals say they are backing poorly armed government forces against the M23 rebel group.Officials are not sure in all cases who is employing the foreign personnel. But sources frequently mention Prince, a businessman close to President Donald Trump.Prince is the founder of Blackwater — a military security contractor whose members were convicted of atrocities in Iraq.Prince “has established himself as a key player in the DRC’s political-security economy,” according to an investigation published this month by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.It described his operations as “a ‘business-as-security’ model unprecedented in the region.”After M23 rebels took Goma, a key regional capital in eastern Congo, in January 2025, its forces were filmed escorting hundreds of Romanian paramilitaries out of the country via Rwanda.A U.S.-mediated agreement between Congo and Rwanda that year was meant to end the fighting in return for U.S. access to minerals.The front lines stabilized, but the conflict has not been resolved, with drones playing a major role.After paramilitaries failed to help government forces crumbling in the face of M23’s Rwandan reinforcements, the Congolese government abruptly terminated a contract with Agemira, a French-led private military firm, according to a report by U.N. experts.The U.N. experts said former Agemira personnel were redeployed to Kisangani, an eastern provincial capital a few hundred miles from the front line.Their report also noted the presence of South American military contractors but could not identify who employed them.These contractors can be seen on the tarmac at Kisangani’s airport, dressed in green fatigues and carrying out maintenance on military aircraft.A source close to the matter told AFP that accommodations for several thousand such personnel had been built in Kisangani.U.N. experts said in their report that Kisangani was serving as a new hub for the deployment of private military companies.Their personnel are tasked in particular with operating Chinese-made CH-4 drones that regularly strike M23 positions.The U.N. experts did not identify the companies, but sources have linked the hub to Prince.In 2024, Prince signed a contract with the Congolese Finance Ministry worth between $100 million and $200 million, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said.That deal was officially “aimed at assisting the authorities in securing mining sites, improving tax collection mechanisms and curbing cross-border smuggling of minerals,” the group’s report added.But it also linked Prince to operations in January 2026 to retake Uvira, a major city in South Kivu province briefly captured by M23.“Prince’s group is said to have supported Congolese special operations forces and army units with drone surveillance and other technical assistance,” the report said.The New York Times reported on two paramilitaries working for the millionaire, a New Zealander and a former member of U.S. special forces.It said the New Zealander was killed and the U.S. veteran wounded in an ambush in the area in September.The two companies representing Prince’s interests in Congo, Vectus Global and Quantum Global Consulting, maintain a presence in the national capital, Kinshasa, but their executives keep a low profile.Contacted by AFP through his various online platforms, Prince did not respond. An AFP request for comment from Vectus Global also went unanswered.Beside a hotel pool, heavily built Western men stand out in the remote southeastern Congolese town of Kalemie.Their presence is explained in part by the town’s strategic location, halfway between territory held by M23 forces and the region’s mining belt, according to a Congolese army official who asked not to be named.According to security sources and some of the men by the hotel pool, paramilitaries in the country include Ukrainians, Israelis, South Africans and Algerians.Men at the pool presented themselves to AFP as pilots or trainers, in some cases former special forces personnel.Some said they previously fought as mercenaries in other African conflicts and openly expressed views associated with the American alt-right.The Congolese army official insisted that the paramilitaries were not combatants but provided no further details.He said even Congolese military personnel struggled to navigate the opaque network of private military companies operating in Congo.In Kalemie, residents and militia members said they were certain of one thing: “Americans” are fighting alongside Congolese forces.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads