The Romanian soldiers were contracted by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a bid to stop the rebel advance.
ADVERTISEMENTColumns of Romanian mercenaries hired by Congo were seen crossing into Rwanda on Wednesday, as M23 rebels tightened their grip on the Congolese city of Goma.
On Tuesday, the Romanian foreign ministry released a press release confirming a group of Romanians contracted by the Democratic Republic of Congo government were trapped in Goma, in the North Kivu province.
But on Wednesday local news outlets said some 288 European mercenaries, most of them Romanian, had crossed into Rubavu.
They also said the private security contractors were hired by well know Romanian mercenary Horațiu Potra‘s company. After the city was overrun by M23 rebels at the start of the week they had apparently holed themselves up in United Nation bases.
UN experts have long said the M23 rebel group is backed by Rwanda, an allegation it rejects.
As Rwandan-backed rebels have gained ground over the past two years, the DR Congo has turned to private military companies to try to shore up its defences.
The United Nations Security Council demanded the rebels stop the offensive and that “external forces” in the region withdraw immediately. Officials have warned that the rebels’ jamming activities are endangering civil aviation and hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance to North Kivu.
The chaotic situation has its roots in ethnic conflict: M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis who fled to DR Congo after the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 Tutsis and others. Tutsis have claimed they are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the genocide, who have also relocated into eastern Congo.
But analysts say the real fight is for control over the DR Congo’s vast mineral deposits, estimated to be worth €23 trillion, and critical to much of the world’s technology.
