Romanian private military personnel arrive at Henri Coanda airport, in Otopeni, near Bucharest on February 1, 2025. Dozens of Romanian soldiers from a private military company operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crossed the border into neighbouring Rwanda on January 29, 2025 to surrender to authorities, according to Kigali. The Rwandan Defence Ministry confirmed their surrender on X the same day, citing the number of "280 Romanian mercenaries" being evacuated in buses to Kigali. In Romania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the "ongoing evacuation" of its nationals, promising to take all measures to "put them out of danger". The day before, the authorities had convened a crisis cell on the subject of "the deterioration of the situation" in eastern DRC, "where there are Romanian citizens working privately for the government, as part of an army training mission". Four of them were injured in the fighting, their leader Constantin Timofte said on Romanian public television. "The national army gave up the fight and we had to retreat" he said. (Photo by George CALIN / various sources / AFP) / Romania OUT / MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / INQUAM PHOTOS / George CALIN" (Photo by GEORGE CALIN/AFP/INQUAM PHOTOS/AFP via Getty Images)