Nearly 300 foreign mercenaries allegedly hired by the DRC government to counter a swift offensive by M23 rebels in the east surrendered and were on their way home on Wednesday.
Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC, was captured by M23 earlier this week, cornering the mercenaries, remnants of the DRC’s army and its allied militias against Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border.
With nowhere else to retreat to, the European Mercenaries handed themselves over to UN peacekeeping troops in Goma, who then arranged for their transit home through neighbouring Rwanda.