Foreign fighters defend DR Congo from M23 rebels

Colonel Romuald served in the French army for 36 years. The paratrooper was previously deployed in Mali, Senegal, Togo, Afghanistan and Kosovo. He could be enjoying his pension at home as a veteran, but instead, he is fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The retired colonel is in charge of a delicate mission in Goma, the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province. For that reason, Romuald does not want his family name to be published. He heads a 20-member team at the Bulgarian private security company, Agemira. 

This advises the Congolese army on how to combat the rebel M23 militia and bring order to its ranks. The company also maintains aircraft and drones, delivers some of the supplies to the soldiers and facilitates arms deals.

Former comrades reunited

Most of Romuald's employees are retired comrades from the French army. The Congolese government hired the services of Agemira two years ago. 

A year earlier, M23 had once again taken up arms. According to United Nations experts, the rebel group is supported by neighboring Rwanda with up to 4,000 soldiers and weapons. The M23 occupies large parts of the fertile and resource-rich province of North Kivu.

In addition to Agemira, President Felix Tshisekedi's administration has also hired the Romanian military company "Romanii care au activat in legiunea franceza" (RALF), which has around 800 fighters. 

Many of them have served in the French Foreign Legion. They come from Romania and Belarus. The RALF soldiers form a defensive ring around Goma and the strategically important town of Sake. They call themselves "Romeos."

Fighting for a "noble" cause

Agemira and RALF see themselves as a team. "We are fighting for a noble cause," Romuald told DW. 

For him, it is a clear case: Rwanda is occupying DR Congo in violation of international law, stealing its raw materials — for example, from the coltan mine in Rubaya, around 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Goma — and forcing millions of people to flee. 

"I told my wife that I wouldn't return until the refugees could go home," Romuald said.

In February, he confidently announced that the [M23] occupation would be over by the end of 2024. 

But now, shortly before the end of the year, fighting is still raging, even though there has officially been a ceasefire since August. Diplomatic negotiations between the DR Congo and Rwanda have so far failed to bring peace.

Romuald admits that he was too optimistic. He cites the Rwandan army's technical superiority and better discipline as the reason why the Congolese military is losing ground.

Discipline is something the Congolese side needs to work on. A few months ago, numerous RALF fighters left the country because the Congolese government had not paid their wages on time. 

 While changing planes at the airport in Addis Ababa, they were still mocking how everything in Congo is pole pole. That's Kiswahili for slow. However, Romuald said the problem has now been resolved.

Higher wages than the Congolese soldiers

According to the retired colonel, the foreigners' pay ranges from $5,000 to 6,000 (€4,700 to 5,600) per month, depending on their rank.

"That's many times more than the few hundred dollars Congolese soldiers earn," Onesphore Sematumba, a Congolese analyst at the International Crisis Group in Nairobi, said. He considers the unequal treatment of local and foreign soldiers to be "a bit racist."

The foreign officers stay in hotels or villas and drive around in new army vehicles, while the Congolese soldiers have to walk, he noted. That kind of thing stirs up jealousy. An Agemira security official also admitted to this while enjoying the evening in a restaurant on Lake Kivu.

Sematumba credits the mercenaries for defending Goma and Sake until now. But he noted that they cannot stop the advance of the M23 in the rural province. "These highly paid people are not really making a difference." 

Sematumba also alluded to the fact that, in addition to the Congolese army and mercenaries, the UN peacekeeping force Monusco, soldiers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), units from Burundi and militant vigilantes are also involved in the ongoing conflict in Congo. Troops from the East African Community were also temporarily deployed.

'Not in it for the money'

Romuald claims that the Europeans are not in the DR Congo for the money. "It's my job and it's an adventure," he explained. 

Romuald sees himself primarily as a consultant. "We are not mercenaries," he said. The Agemira employees don't even carry weapons. The RALF military may have guns but would only fight defensively if Goma or Sake were attacked.

Mercenarism is a criminal offense in Europe. Romuald said that the secret services in France and Romania sometimes question the Agemira and RALF military officers when they are on home leave. "As soon as we start behaving like mercenaries, they will arrest us."

The business practices of many private security companies are not transparent. Human Rights Watch accuses Africa Corps (formerly Wagner Group) from Russia and Academi (formerly Blackwater) from the US of crimes. "They wipe out entire villages," Romuald said. 

So far, human rights activists in Goma have had no evidence that Agemira or RALF are committing crimes or doing business with raw materials. "The context is different to Wagner," Sematumba explained. 

The mercenaries in Congo are not at the front line or in the mining regions. "They have no opportunity to equate rebels with civilians and kill them," he added.

This article was originally written in German.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu