APA – Kinshasa (DR Congo) Two Romanians described as mercenaries have been confirmed killed in the latest skirmish between Congolese government troops and M23 rebels, APA can report on Saturday.
The rebels showed to the media the travel documents including passports belonging to the two Romanian nationals who died in a road ambush during a battle in eastern DR Congo where a government-led coalition has been engaging M23 fighters.
Their deaths were confirmed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to media in Bucharest.
The Romanian soldiers deployed in eastern DR Congo are mercenaries who are paid $5,000 per month, each, according to the Romanian Journal.
It comes as the Congolese M23 rebels on Saturday claimed that “several dozens” Burundian soldiers and government troops were killed while others were captured in battlefields around North Kivu province.
“The Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC) [also known as M23] professionally defended the civilian population in Nyenyeri and its surroundings, attacked by the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime,” said Lawrence Kanyuka, M23 Political spokesperson.
In addition, Kanyuka was quoted in a statement as saying that M23 fighters also captured several Burundians and condemned Burundi for its continued participation in what he called ethnic cleansing.
The rebel spokesperson also said that troops loyal to the government in Kinshasa were defeated, prompting some of them to abandone weapons, ammunition and military equipment as thy fled the battlefield.
“We are committed to liberating the Congolese people and addressing the root causes of conflict in order to achieve lasting peace in the DRC,” he said.
Since October last year, thousands of Burundian troops have been covertly deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), wearing the uniform of Congolese troops and working alongside them in the fight against M23 rebels.
CU/as/APA