Nearly 700 CAR soldiers graduate from RDF-led training
Nearly 700 soldiers from the Central African Republic have graduated from a military training programme led by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF).
A total of 670 personnel of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) have completed military training conducted by instructors from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), in the latest phase of Rwanda-Central African Republic defence cooperation.
The group comprises 566 newly recruited soldiers who completed six months of basic military training and 104 personnel, including senior non-commissioned officers, who completed four months of career training.
The passing-out ceremony was held on Monday, August 10, at Camp Kassaï military barracks in Bangui and was presided over by CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.
RDF Army Chief of Staff Maj Gen Vincent Nyakarundi attended the ceremony alongside Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Central African Republic Olivier Kayumba, senior government officials and defence attachés accredited to CAR.
The training programmes were conducted by RDF instructors in collaboration with FACA, with the latest graduates joining a growing number of Central African military personnel who have received training under the bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
The first cohort of 512 Central African soldiers trained under a bilateral agreement between Rwanda and CAR graduated in November 2023. A further 634 soldiers completed training in August 2024, while 545 soldiers and 121 platoon sergeants graduated in November 2025.
The training forms part of wider security and defence cooperation between Rwanda and CAR.
Rwanda has deployed troops to CAR under the United Nations peacekeeping mission and under a bilateral security arrangement with Bangui.
