NBC report fails by relying on defeated European mercenaries as a news source

The NBC News “Special Report” by anti-Rwanda activist Michela Wrong relies heavily on misinformation including revelations from European mercenaries, portrayed as “military contractors” ejected from DR Congo. Wrong’s report loses all credibility by presenting the mercenaries kicked out of Goma when the city fell to AFC/M23 earlier this year as security professionals. Even the recently leaked, and heavily biased UN Group of Experts report explicitly documents the role of these mercenaries as controversial foreign combatants in the conflict in eastern DR Congo. NBC’s uncritical platforming of European mercenaries as objective witnesses offering insight into Rwanda’s military operations needs to be questioned and condemned. The mercenaries were direct participants in the conflict, hired by the DRC government to support the Congolese’s army’s shambolic military response. The article avoids naming any of the individuals or divulging their interests, implying they are mere observers. ALSO READ: Mercenaries in the DRC crisis: What it means legally and ethically The recent UN report identifies two private military companies (PMCs)—Agemira and Congo Protection (CP)—that were contracted by the Congolese government to provide tactical and operational support to FARDC against M23 offensives. These PMCs were heavily involved in combat, particularly in Goma, and eventually evacuated under MONUSCO (UN mission in DR Congo) protection to Romania via Kigali immediately after AFC/M23 took over Goma. Essentially, Wrong’s defeated irregular actors in the conflict provide self-preserving narratives rather than impartial analysis. More broadly, Wrong’s report chooses to ignore the legal status of these mercenaries and the implications of their presence in a sovereign African conflict. This is in a context where the DR Congo government has more recently signed on Erik Prince (former Blackwater founder) to train troops, operate drones, and secure mining zones. ALSO READ: European mercenaries surrender to M23, get safe passage through Rwanda This raises serious concerns about the privatization of warfare, and its impact on civilian safety, potential sanctions violations, given their cooperation with units accused of war crimes, as well as conflict of interest, as these actors seek to shape narratives that justify their operations and obscure the real causes of the conflict. NBC’s failure to disclose this background lends these paid mercenaries’ undue legitimacy, aligning Wrong’s report with the perspective of paid European belligerents in the conflict, rather than independent or local actors. With ongoing scrutiny of foreign mercenaries in Africa, particularly Africa Corps (former Wagner Group), NBC and Michela Wrong need to be put to task for the decision to publish a distorted narrative on Rwanda’s actions and intentions that favors foreign military contractors. ALSO READ: Inside FDLR’s frontline base 3km from Rwanda border By Rwanda’s long-term security concerns linked to the persistent threat of the DR Congo-backed FDLR genocidal militia, as well as the plight of Congolese civilians who have been systematically persecuted, and the mediation efforts of regional organisations and African leaders, NBC deliberately embeds a narrative that sidelines African voices, in an African conflict, unjustifiably frames Rwanda as the irrational aggressor, based on accounts from paid adversaries, and importantly, ignores the disintegration of the Congolese army and state failure DR Congo, which has left the eastern part of the country ungoverned for decades. This is clearly not just an oversight by NBC—it reflects a broader pattern in Michela Wrong’s activism that marginalizes local reality in favor of her highly personalized narratives of villainy and heroism. NBC’s failure to critically assess the background and motives of its European “military contractor” sources undermines the credibility of its reporting and glosses over the murky realities of foreign intervention in DR Congo.

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NBC report fails by relying on defeated European mercenaries as a news source