Former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy recovering after hes shot 3 times in deadly Congo ambush on private security forces: Not dead
Former Army Green Beret turned UFC fighter Tim Kennedy is on the road to recovery in the US after he was wounded in last month’s ambush that left at least 20 people injured or dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Kennedy, 47, has been receiving treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he spoke with Rep.Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) on Sunday, according to Reuters.
“I just spoke to my dear friend @TimKennedyMMA.That means he is not dead and that means I am thankful,” Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, said on X.“I am asking everyone to pray for his healing and that his wonderful family find Peace.”The congressman then quipped that Kennedy’s injury “in no, shape, or form, does this change my position” on the Army-Navy rivalry.“GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!” he wrote.Kennedy, 47, was working for Vectus Global — a private security firm founded by Blackwater founder Erik Prince — in Congo when he and other force members were ambushed while traveling between locations in South Kivu province on Sept.
17.The region, in the country’s east, has been plagued by conflict for decades.Kennedy suffered three gunshot wounds while at least 20 people were killed or wounded in the attack, according to the outlet.At least seven Congolese and a former New Zealand Special Forces member were killed.A Congolese security source told Reuters that villagers living near where the attack took place were likely among the casualties.Kennedy was medevaced out of Congo while the full extent of his injuries remains unclear.The former UFC fighter has not yet spoken publicly about the attack or his recovery.
He last posted on social media amid his recovery on Sept.25, in which he reflected on parenthood.
It has not been confirmed who was behind the ambush, but Congolese government sources told Reuters that Rwandan forces supporting M23 — a rebel group that has seized large swaths of eastern Congo — may have located Kennedy’s team by...