Two Romanians died and four were injured in the fighting taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo between rebels and the army, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The information was also published by the Observer, which wrote that the Romanians are mercenaries who went to Africa with private contracts to train the local armies.
MAE recommends avoiding unnecessary travel in this country.
“Regarding the recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R. Congo), the MAE informs that it is carefully monitoring the situation, and at the level of the Interinstitutional Crisis Cell (CCI) steps have been taken to verify the information from the field through specific channels”, the MFA informed on Thursday.
The Ministry mentions that the CCI operates 24/7, from the moment of activation, including to identify ways of support for Romanian citizens who are in special situations.
“According to the information available at the CCI level, at this moment two (2) Romanian citizens died and four (4) other Romanian citizens were injured in the recent events in the D.R. Congo. We reiterate the fact that the MFA recommends avoiding unnecessary trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, considering that the security situation in this country is extremely volatile. Travel alert for R.D. Congo is available at https://www.mae.ro/travel-alerts/2902“, said the MAE.
The Romanians were reportedly hired by a Romanian, a former fighter in the Foreign Legion, investigated more than a decade ago by DIICOT for drug and weapons trafficking.
20 Romanians were attacked by the rebel group M23, yesterday, February 7, around 06:00. For more than 10 hours, their colleagues struggled to get them out of there. It is about an extremely dangerous area, very difficult to access, where they were training.
The Romanians had left for Congo with private contracts, for 3 months.
They were taken to Congo by Horatiu Potra, a 53-year-old man from Sibiu, with a controversial past, according to Observator. He was a fighter in the Foreign Legion, and at the end of the 90s he was part of the bodyguard of the Emir of Qatar.
For several years, he has contracts with the Congolese government, he frequently brings former soldiers to train the soldiers of the local armies. According to Observator sources, the 20 former Romanian soldiers who arrived in Congo would have received 5,000 euros each for each of the 3 months they spent in Congo. All money was received at the end of this period. The military there are now in a safe area. The families of the Romanians have not yet been announced.