An additional 104 personnel, including senior non-commissioned officers, completed four months of career training under the same programme.

The pass-out ceremony was held on August 10 at Camp Kassaï military barracks in Bangui and was presided over by Central African Republic President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

The ceremony was attended by RDF Army Chief of Staff Maj Gen Vincent Nyakarundi, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Kayumba Olivier, senior government officials and defence attachés accredited to the Central African Republic.

The training was conducted as part of bilateral military cooperation between Rwanda and the Central African Republic, which includes efforts to strengthen the capabilities of the FACA and joint peacekeeping initiatives.

FACA Chief of General Staff Gen Zéphirin Mamadou welcomed the newly trained personnel, saying they would join other soldiers in protecting the country’s territorial integrity.

He thanked Rwandan President Paul Kagame for Rwanda’s military cooperation with the Central African Republic, which he said had yielded positive results.

“This graduation marks the completion of the fifth intake by military instructors from the Rwanda Defence Force, with the ultimate objective of preventing the activities of the enemies of peace,” Mamadou said. “I have no doubt that the skills acquired during this course will contribute to protecting the country and its people.”

Maj Gen Nyakarundi said the ceremony reflected the dedication, discipline and commitment demonstrated by the trainees throughout their training.

He said the graduates had demonstrated their readiness to serve professionally and uphold the values and responsibilities entrusted to them as soldiers, having acquired skills needed to perform their duties effectively.

Rwanda has maintained troops in the Central African Republic since 2020 under bilateral arrangements aimed at supporting efforts to counter armed groups threatening civilian security.

The two countries have since expanded their military cooperation, with Rwanda also supporting efforts to build the capacity of the Central African armed forces.

In November 2025, Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence said the RDF had trained 2,409 junior soldiers from the Central African Republic, along with 300 non-commissioned officers.

The latest graduation marks the fifth intake of FACA personnel trained by RDF instructors.