Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s forces suffered a major battlefield loss in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when enemy forces ambushed them, killing and wounding at least 20 people, including a popular former UFC fighter.

The frontline clash shows how Prince, an ally and supporter of President Donald Trump, has taken on an expanded role in the Congo through his company Vectus Global.

The company, which also operates in Haiti and other parts of Africa, provides consulting and security services and previously helped Congo’s army secure the city of Uvira in South Kivu against Rwanda-backed rebels who control swathes of the east. 

A veteran special operator reported on his podcast earlier this week that former US Green Beret and Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant Tim Kennedy was injured in Congo.

Kennedy, the former mixed martial arts fighter, survived the attack with three gunshot wounds to the leg, three sources said, and is being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the suburbs of Washington. 

Kennedy has a popular podcast channel and millions of followers on social media. Trump is a fan of UFC, hosting fights at the White House this year. 

The involvement of Prince’s forces and the number of casualties had not previously been reported.

The attack in South Kivu on September 17 left about 20 dead and wounded, two sources working with Congo’s government said. 

Tim Kennedy, a former UFC fighter and retired Green Beret, was among several people killed and wounded while working for Blackwater founder Erik Prince in the Congo. He is pictured at the White House in May 2025

Former UFC fighter and US Green Beret Tim Kennedy, pictured alongside President Donald Trump, has close ties to the president. They are seen together in April 2025

Former US Green Beret and UFC fighter Tim Kennedy was shot three times in the leg when a team working for Blackwater founder Erik Prince was ambushed in DR Congo

The deadly ambush included at least seven Congolese and also claimed the life of Justin Conaglen, a former member of New Zealand’s elite Special Air Service, whose body has since been flown home.

Conaglen, a lance corporal in the NZSAS, had taken unpaid leave from the military in March before officially leaving the armed forces in August, according to the New Zealand Herald.

His remains were returned to Auckland, where grieving relatives and former special forces colleagues gathered to receive him before a funeral was held in Northland.

New Zealand’s military confirmed it was helping the family with arrangements but declined to comment further.

A Vectus Global representative declined to comment. The company has not previously suffered casualties in Congo, a source with direct knowledge of the operation said.

One of the sources who works for Congo’s government said that Rwandan forces backing the M23 rebels may have surprised them by tracking a drone used for surveillance operations to their location.

Spokespeople for the Congolese and Rwandan governments and for the M23 did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US State Department and Walter Reed declined to comment. Kennedy’s parents did not respond to requests for comment when Reuters reached out.

Tim Kennedy is seen speaking with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a White House event

Blackwater founder Erik Prince, an ally of President Trump, has expanded his security operations in Congo, where his company Vectus Global has been supporting government forces battling Rwanda-backed rebels

Tim Kennedy was wounded when a team working for Blackwater founder Erik Prince was ambushed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-September, leaving several dead

Kennedy, a former US Army Special Forces soldier turned MMA fighter, was wounded during the attack and being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington

A Congolese security source, who said some 20 people were wounded and killed in the attack, added that villagers were likely among the casualties as well. 

Reuters spoke to at least 10 sources either with direct knowledge of the attack or briefed ⁠on the outcome.

Prince’s initial mandate in Congo was to secure and improve revenue collection from the country’s vast mineral reserves, which have been plundered for decades, fueling relentless conflict in the east.

But in January and early February, his forces deployed to Uvira after Washington helped broker a deal for Rwandan-backed rebels to withdraw from the strategic town.

The size of Prince’s forces in Congo is unclear.

One of the sources with direct knowledge of the attack said the Vectus team was traveling between locations when the ambush took place and its sophistication suggested Rwandan forces were involved.

‘It reinforces the need for DRC sovereignty ​to be restored. It’s an incredibly dangerous ⁠place right now,’ the source said.

Two other sources said the ambush was carried out by the Rwandan military. 

It has been claimed the wounded contractors were left stranded for as long as ten hours before being rescued.

Brent Tucker, a former Green Beret and Delta Force operator, said he had learned details of the deadly attack shortly after it happened but waited until he could corroborate the information before speaking publicly.

‘Of the three-man element, two of them were shot up pretty badly and one lost his life in the Congo,’ Tucker said on his Tier1 Podcast.

He claimed the men had been forced to wait between eight and ten hours for recovery.

‘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,’ Tucker said.

His account of the alleged rescue delay has not been independently confirmed.

Before becoming involved in security operations overseas, Kennedy made his name as a professional UFC fighter building a following through his military career and MMA appearances

Kennedy, who has millions of social media followers, was among the foreign contractors caught in the deadly ambush while supporting security operations in eastern Congo

Tucker also revealed new details about the tiny team caught in the ambush, with a former special forces operator claiming just three contractors were involved.

‘There were three of them. Beside Tim Kennedy who was shot, I believe four times, there was a Kiwi, a New Zealander, an SAS member that was a part of the contract. He died. And the third guy also was hit multiple times,’ Tucker said.

The account suggests all three men were struck by gunfire, with Conaglen suffering fatal injuries while Kennedy and another unidentified contractor survived.

Tucker described it as ‘a pretty small element to be rolling around the Congo with’.

Kennedy was evacuated from the conflict zone through Burundi and Johannesburg in South Africa before receiving treatment in the United States.

Erik Prince’s private security company suffered its first casualties in Congo when forces linked to the op were ambushed in South Kivu on September 17, leaving around 20 dead or wounded

The deadly attack has also thrown fresh attention on the scale of Erik Prince’s lucrative operations in Congo, where the Blackwater founder reportedly secured a $700 million agreement with the government. 

The arrangement, according to the New Zealand Herald, encompasses efforts to protect mining revenues alongside military assistance to Congolese forces battling armed groups in the country’s volatile east.

United Nations investigators have previously identified a secret military component to Prince’s Vectus Global contract, involving border security, strategic military advice, aircraft and the recruitment of former foreign military personnel.

Prince is the founder of now-defunct private military firm Blackwater, some of whose members were pardoned in 2020 for killing Iraqi civilians.

The State Department has said it does not have any contracts with Prince in Congo, though US officials have said they plan to work more closely with Vectus Global in Haiti.

The deal for Rwandan-backed rebels to withdraw from Uvira was ⁠part of wider agreements brokered by the Trump administration to try to end the conflict in eastern Congo.

Kennedy, a father of four, has posted his views on politics, culture, fitness and more on social media. He also runs a popular YouTube podcast in which he interviews UFC fighters, veterans, cultural disruptors and others.

He has often posted about his family, including four young children. In late August, he posted about ⁠having ‘incredible conversations about ​what being a man means and what sacrifice really looks like’ with his son. 

He did not disclose details about his upcoming trip to Congo.

The United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda backs M23, even exercising command and control over the group. Rwanda denies this. 

Fighting in the decades-long conflict flared early last year, with M23 fighters making rapid gains in the east, which is rich in tantalum, gold, lithium and other minerals.