Operation Congo (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798227579553)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo teetered on the brink of collapse in the aftermath of flawed and violent national elections in December 2023. Severe clashes erupted between the military and insurgent groups vying for power - most prominently, the M23 rebel militia with ties to Rwanda and Uganda, and the ISIS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces. As the conflict dramatically escalated, a covert and elite unit known only as The Extermination Unit (T.E.U.) was called into action by the United States Intelligence Agency.

The T.E.U. consisted of five former Navy SEALs with specialized training as snipers, bomb experts, and intelligence operatives: Matt Ellwood, Jason Mix, Calvin Smart, Erik Wellington, and Lisa Bon. Code-named "Operation Congo," their mission was as critical as it was dangerous - to assassinate General Sultani Makenga, the ruthless military chief of the M23 rebels who threatened to overthrow the fragile Congolese democracy.

Born in 1973 in Rutshuru, an ethnic Tutsi raised in South Kivu, Makenga had risen through the ranks of the M23 to become their most formidable leader. His forces had already seized vast swaths of territory in the eastern regions, emboldened by their foreign backers. If left unchecked, Makenga's revolutionary zeal could plunge the entire nation into a brutal civil war.

The T.E.U. operators infiltrated the Congo under deepest cover, utilizing their combined expertise in reconnaissance, explosives, and marksmanship. They tracked Makenga's movements relentlessly, slowly tightening the noose. In a daring nighttime raid on his heavily fortified compound, the team unleashed a coordinated assault - Matt's sniper fire providing overwatch as Jason and Erik breached the interior with surgical precision.

Amidst the chaos of the firefight, Calvin located Makenga's panic room and rigged it with C4 explosives. When the rebel leader tried to escape, Lisa captured him at gunpoint. But in his final act of defiance, Makenga detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and Lisa in the blast. The remaining T.E.U. operators recovered Lisa's body and exfiltrated from the devastated compound, their mission complete but at a heavy cost.

In the wake of Makenga's death, the M23 rebellion began to fracture and lose momentum. The Allied Democratic Forces attempted to seize the power vacuum but were swiftly neutralized by Congolese forces aided by U.N. peacekeepers. Though the road ahead remained perilous, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had a chance to rebuild and hold democratic elections under the watchful eye of the international community.

For the T.E.U., their work was never done. They would continue to operate from the shadows, exterminating threats to global democracy and paying any price to preserve freedom and justice. Lisa's sacrifice would not be forgotten by her brothers and sisters in arms as they embarked on the next mission in their endless war.