Blackwater Founder’s Private Force Suffers Ambush in Congo, Leaving UFC Veteran Wounded and NZ Soldier Dead

Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s private security company suffered its first known casualties in the Democratic Republic of Congo when gunmen ambushed a small team of contractors in South Kivu in mid-September, killing a New Zealand special forces veteran and wounding former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy, according to multiple sources.The September 17 attack, which left roughly 20 people dead or wounded overall, has not previously been reported in detail. Mr. Prince’s company, Vectus Global, has operated in Congo since helping the national army retake the city of Uvira from Rwanda-backed M23 rebels earlier this year, as part of broader U.S.-brokered efforts to ease the region’s conflict.Among the casualties was Justin Conaglen, a former lance corporal in New Zealand’s Special Air Service who had left the military in August. His body was flown home to Auckland, where relatives and former colleagues gathered before a funeral in Northland. New Zealand’s military confirmed it assisted the family but declined further comment, the Daily Mail reported.Mr. Kennedy, a former Green Beret and mixed martial arts competitor, was shot multiple times in the leg and is now being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington. He was evacuated through Burundi and Johannesburg before reaching the United States. A Vectus Global representative declined to comment, and a source confirmed the company had not previously suffered casualties in Congo.Brent Tucker, a former Green Beret and Delta Force operator, said on his Tier1 Podcast that the three-man team was left stranded for eight to 10 hours before rescue.“Of the three-man element, two of them were shot up pretty badly and one lost his life in the Congo,” Mr. Tucker said. “One of the resources you’re going to want is if something goes wrong, someone to come get you and to get you quickly. We also know that didn’t happen.”Describing the size of the unit, Mr. Tucker said it was “a pretty small element to be rolling around the Congo with.”One Congolese government source suggested Rwandan forces may have tracked a surveillance drone to pinpoint the team’s location. “It reinforces the need for DRC sovereignty to be restored. It’s an incredibly dangerous place right now,” the source said according to the Mail.Two other sources said Rwanda’s military carried out the ambush. Spokesmen for the Congolese and Rwandan governments and for M23 did not respond to media requests for comment.The attack has drawn fresh attention to Mr. Prince’s reported $700 million agreement with Congo’s government, which reportedly combines mining-revenue protection with military support for Congolese forces. United Nations investigators have previously flagged a secretive military dimension to the Vectus Global contract, including border security and the recruitment of foreign military veterans.The State Department said it has no contracts with Mr. Prince in Congo, though officials have signaled plans to deepen cooperation with Vectus Global in Haiti. Mr. Prince, who founded the now-defunct Blackwater, saw several former employees pardoned in 2020 for killing Iraqi civilians.

Blackwater Founder’s Private Force Suffers Ambush in Congo, Leaving UFC Veteran Wounded and NZ Soldier Dead

Blackwater Founder’s Private Force Suffers Ambush in Congo, Leaving UFC Veteran Wounded and NZ Soldier Dead

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