Further reporting has shed light on the operation during which
Tim
Kennedy was wounded in a Sept. 17 ambush in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
According to MMA Weekly, sources close to the Congolese
government said the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight and his fellow
contractors were assigned to a ground-clearing operation. Their
work was linked to broader efforts to protect mining revenue,
combat smuggling and collect taxes for the government.
New report details Vectus Global’s Congo operation that left
Tim Kennedy wounded and Justin Conaglen dead
Kennedy reportedly was part of a three-man contractor team
alongside former New Zealand Special Air Service member Justin
Conaglen and an unidentified contractor. The ambush in South Kivu
province left about 20 people dead or wounded, according to sources
cited by Reuters.
Conaglen was killed, while Kennedy and the third contractor were
wounded. Kennedy reportedly sustained three gunshot wounds to a
leg. At least seven Congolese nationals were among those killed,
and a Congolese security source told Reuters that villagers likely
were among the casualties. The contractors were working for Vectus
Global, a private security company led by Blackwater founder Erik
Prince, according to the reporting.
A Vectus Global representative declined to comment to Reuters. The
attackers’ identities and the precise circumstances of the ambush
have not been officially confirmed.