 This expansion was at least partially accomplished because Nkunda began incorporating all manner of men with unclear backgrounds into the brigades under his control, including former Rwandan soldiers, members of former militias who had been demobilized and had no skills outside of war, and others simply attracted to his populist Tutsi rhetoric.Prior to "mixage", Nkunda's troops controlled a swathe of Masisi Territory from Goma north through Sake, Kirolirwe and Kitchanga (Nkunda's homeland) and then further north and west.With his new "mixage" battalions, Nkunda was able to control large areas of Masisi and Rutshuru and expand north and east toward the border with Uganda.