What Happened That Led To The Romanian Mercenaries Surrender and M23’s Advance?

A Former Mercenary Shares His Experience And What He Says Was The Situation That Led Potra’s Romanian Mercenaries To Surrender In The DRC.

A man who claims he once worked for Potra and his PMC has shared his take with me on what has happened in the DRC and to the mercenaries.

The source claims that not long after he was deployed to the DRC to help with training, that the company and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) were not prepared, nor well equipped, which concerned him so he flew home. 

About what has happened today and yesterday in the DRC and its war with M23 rebels, with the surrender of his former colleagues, the mercenaries, he says that his contacts are telling him that FARDC “didn’t have any plans in case of this kind of situation”.

He emphasises that the Romanians were there as a PMC who’s main mission was to “instruct FARDC personnel and to guard the bases where we were accommodated, and guard the airport”.

He also claims that “From the intel that I have from the guys, they were betrayed at the airport by the FARDC generals”.

“The rebels were very close and in very much bigger numbers compared to the number of guards defending the airport… They needed to find a solution to survive. The Congolese army just started retreating from there and ran away. So the Romanian contractors decided to find shelter in the UN compound.”

My take… The lack of training with the FARDC (and other SADC forces), lack of proper equipment and poor leadership, are, IMHO, all factors that has led to M23, i.e. President Kagame’s proxy army, to advance as they have.

I also believe that within the ranks of M23 are covert well trained Rwandan soldiers pretending to be rebels. I am speculating.

Because of Romanian and International laws on mercenaries, I believe the so-called training, i.e. advisory, work being provided to FARDC near the Rwanda border is a loophole that Potra was using. By providing training, Potra was not providing frontline mercenaries, technically speaking, and not violating any domestic and international laws. Let me put it this way, they could have provided the military training in Kinshasa, not near the frontlines. The Romanians were there near the frontlines, providing training and to act as guards, i.e. to be put in defensive roles, for the airport and area, so, when needed, they could be thrown into combat as the situation required. Saying they were there in an advisory role is the loophole, but location location location is everything in this case.

As I’ve been saying, Romanian Horațiu Potra’s PMC men, i.e. mercenaries, have ended their contract and not on their terms. I wonder if the DRC could get a refund? 😁

–RdM