A new report by the United Nations Panel of Experts investigating the Democratic Republic of the Congo has released detailed information on the activities and role of mercenaries in the conflict in the country’s eastern region.
The report states that mercenary groups provide combat support, maintain military equipment including fighter aircraft, and deliver advanced training to the DRC’s armed forces in drone operations, radar systems, jungle warfare, intelligence gathering, battle planning, secure communications, and enemy detection.
Although this cooperation has existed for some time, the UN experts note that coordination between the DRC military coalition and the mercenary groups has faced significant challenges, with frequent confusion over the chain of command and uncertainty about who is responsible for giving and carrying out orders.
Advanced Training and Cooperation with Wazalendo
Foreign mercenaries maintain major bases in Kisangani, Kinshasa, Walikale, Kalemie (Tanganyika Province), and Kindu (Maniema Province). Multiple sources and testimonies indicate that they continue to play a significant role in military operations in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
In Walikale (North Kivu) and the town of Baraka (South Kivu), foreign mercenaries have provided advanced military training to Wazalendo militia groups. The training included techniques for locating enemy positions and operating reconnaissance drones.
Testimonies from Wazalendo members indicate that those selected for the training are generally educated recruits. After completing the program, many are deployed to the front lines alongside the DRC armed forces. Some are equipped with precision rifles to fight against the AFC/M23 coalition.
Among those who received the training were fighters led by individuals sanctioned by the United Nations, including Guidon Shimiray, leader of the NDC-R armed group operating in Walikale, and members of the CNPSC armed group led by William Yakutumba.
Between January and March 2026, mercenaries fought alongside the DRC armed forces during intense clashes in South Kivu, accompanied by drone strikes and ground offensives in several areas, including Minembwe Commune and its surrounding areas.
During this period, Wazalendo militias were ordered to withdraw from the highland areas of South Kivu. They were replaced by the DRC’s special forces unit known as “Hiboux” and foreign mercenaries from various groups.
The mercenaries were not deployed across all combat zones. Instead, they provided specialized support in key operations, including coordinating heavy artillery attacks, drone strikes, and intelligence-related missions. They were also deployed to the city of Uvira in January 2026.
On February 1, 2026, multiple drone strikes involving foreign mercenaries targeted positions held by the MRDP-Twirwaneho armed group in Minembwe.
Between February 2 and February 8, mercenary groups assisted the Hiboux special forces in recapturing the Point-Zéro area, a strategic junction connecting the routes to Uvira, Baraka, and Minembwe.
Secret Agreement with Erik Prince
The UN report also highlights a five-year cooperation agreement signed between the DRC government and Erik Prince in December 2024. Prince, an American businessman, is widely known for his leadership of private military companies, including Blackwater.
Under the agreement, Prince committed to providing military assistance to the DRC armed forces and overseeing security at mining sites across the country using his private contractors.
In June 2025, Prince’s UAE-based company, Quantum Global Consulting, registered a new subsidiary in the DRC called Quantum Global Consulting Africa.
Quantum Global also registered another company in the DRC named Vectus Global, headed by Christophe Sirot, who holds both French and U.S. citizenship.
Under its contract with the DRC Ministry of Finance, Vectus Global was tasked with helping the government increase mining revenues, combat cross-border mineral smuggling, fight corruption, and reduce tax evasion.
In late April 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced the creation of a special unit to protect mining sites, replacing the soldiers and police officers who had previously been responsible for their security. According to the UN experts, this new unit appears to have links to Vectus Global.
UN experts state that the agreement between Vectus Global and the DRC government contained highly sensitive military provisions, with the company being tasked with strengthening border security, especially near Rwanda and Zambia.
The agreement also reportedly allowed Vectus Global to provide the DRC military with specialized advice on the purchase and use of fighter aircraft, as well as the recruitment of former foreign military personnel to fight on behalf of the government.
The main objective of these mercenaries was to help the DRC armed forces develop the capacity to confront Rwanda through advanced technology, specialized military training, strategic advice, and assistance in acquiring modern weapons.
At the end of 2025, a Vectus employee told the UN experts that, due to the escalation of the conflict, the company’s mission had shifted from focusing on mining security to concentrating on military operations.
In February 2026, another Vectus Global employee explained that the DRC government had called on the company to help plan the operation to retake the city of Uvira, which had been captured by AFC/M23 fighters, and that some of its personnel had been deployed to South Kivu to implement the operation.
However, during an interview with the experts in March 2026, Sirot strongly denied Vectus Global’s involvement in the fighting, stating that the agreement between the two sides did not include participation in combat operations.
Nevertheless, the report confirms that several witnesses, including Vectus employees, indicated that Sirot was responsible for coordinating these military-related activities.
Another key point highlighted in the report is how, since July 2025, former soldiers and police officers from El Salvador have been deployed to the front lines in the conflict between the DRC government forces and AFC/M23.
Initially, these mercenaries were supposed to provide support for maintaining military equipment in the city of Kisangani, in Tshopo Province. However, their mission was later changed, and they were deployed to Walikale, Baraka, and Kalemie.
UN experts found that a company called “Importaciones de Productos Americanos S.A. de C.V.” played a role in coordinating the recruitment in El Salvador of more than 300 mercenaries prepared to participate in the war in the DRC.
The company is registered in El Salvador and is owned by Juan Emilio Velasco Alfaro, a former Salvadoran military officer who held the rank of Colonel, and Rodrigo Antonio Tejada Alvarenga, a former Lieutenant.
Many of the mercenaries from El Salvador were given one-year contracts that began in July 2025. Each person was promised a monthly salary of $4,225.
UN experts say that some of these mercenaries returned to El Salvador before their contracts ended due to delays in receiving the salaries promised by the DRC government or because of injuries and illnesses suffered during the conflict.
The government of El Salvador told UN experts that it was unaware that its citizens had gone to fight in the DRC and that it had never authorized their deployment.
