Erik Prince's forces suffer battlefield loss in Congo, former UFC fighter among wounded, sources say
Forces belonging to Erik Prince's company Vectus Global were ambushed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-September, with at least 20 people killed and wounded, according to sources close to the Congolese government and his company. Two sources working with Congo's government said the attack in South Kivu on September 17 left about 20 dead and wounded, among them at least seven Congolese and a former member of New Zealand's Special Forces. Former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy survived with three gunshot wounds to the leg and is being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, three sources said.
Why it matters: The ambush bears on the briefing's conflict theme, placing a US-linked private security contractor inside a mineral-rich eastern Congo war in which the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda backs the M23 rebels.