Romanian mercenaries queue to undergo screening as they are evacuated from Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid a conflict between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), at the Grande Barrier border crossing, as seen from Gisenyi side of Rwanda, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Nearly 300 foreign mercenaries hired by the Democratic Republic of Congo government to counter a swift offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the east have surrendered and were on their way home on Wednesday.
Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, was captured by M23 earlier this week, cornering the mercenaries, remnants of Congo's army and its allied militias against Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border.
