Reports of an ambush by rebel forces in Central Africa were said to have left several dead and more wounded among a group of contractors that included former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy.
Throughout his second administration, President Donald Trump has brokered numerous peace deals around the world, including one between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed last December. Amid ongoing instability in the region, Tutsi-led rebels backed by Rwanda and Russia were said to have attacked a group that included the former U.S. Army Green Beret, leaving him with multiple gunshot wounds.
As a member of a team working for Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s Vectus Global, a report from Reuters indicated that Kennedy was among those working to safeguard revenue collection for the Congo’s mineral reserves who were ambushed on September 17.
Along with a number of others injured in the attack, war correspondent Robert Young Pelton told the New Zealand Herald that former New Zealand Special Air Service Lance Corporal Justin Conaglen was killed along with, as Reuters detailed, seven Congolese.
JUST IN: Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s forces ambushed in Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving 20 people dead or injured, including former UFC fighter and Green Beret Tim Kennedy (wounded), according to Reuters.
Vectus Global, headed by Prince, has reportedly been operating in Congo.
Congo’s government says there was an attack on September 17 that left 20 dead or wounded.
Reuters reports that Rwandan forces backing the M23 rebels may have launched a surprise attack after tracking a surveillance drone to their location.
At least seven Congolese were killed and a former member of New Zealand’s Special Forces.
Kennedy and another foreign contractor were reportedly wounded.
The former UFC fighter and Green Beret reportedly suffered three gunshot wounds to the leg. He is currently at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, being treated.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 9, 2026
As previously reported, as global powers have vied for advantage over the resources of the continent, the Tutsi-led M23 rebellion claims to be “enforcing unfulfilled provisions of a 2009 peace agreement …” With the backing of Rwanda — along with alleged ties to Russia’s paramilitary Africa Corps — the rebels were believed to have used a drone to track the contractors before the surprise attack.
Further fleshing out the incident, U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Brent Tucker confirmed Kennedy’s role in the Congo on his “Tier1 Podcast” while explaining, “He was doing contracting work. 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.”
Limited details on Kennedy’s status contend that he was medically evacuated to the United States for treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, having suffered at least three gunshot wounds to the leg.
In addition to the ongoing conflict in Africa, the president had expressed concern over the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Congo, where 8,000 cases had been reported as of late September.
While fielding questions from the press in the Oval Office, Trump was asked to intercede on behalf of the Congolese as Angolan White House correspondent Hariana Verás said, “I just came from DRC. I was there a month ago, and I witnessed, again, Rwanda still killing a lot of Congolese. Mr. President, if you can do something-”
“And you witnessed it?” wondered the commander-in-chief, who was told, “Yes, Mr. President. And I have evidence.”
It was then he asked, “How is Ebola? How is Ebola going?” before a response that it was “under control” and war remained a bigger issue led the president to say, “I’ll make sure it works out. That’s what I do. I make sure things work out.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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