Uganda to train Central African Republic armed forces

After years of instability and collapse, the Central African Republic is scrambling to rebuild its armed forces. And Uganda has stepped in to help.

On Thursday, a batch of new recruits departed Bangui's Mpoko Airport for Kampala for training.

For six months, the young soldiers will be skilled in intelligence gathering and in combating rebel threats.

Uganda and Central African Republic maintain a bilateral military agreement signed in October 2024.

"Training slots have been granted by this brotherly country for the benefit of the Central African Republic to train 1800 young Central Africans as second-class soldiers," said Oscar Yannick Bada, head of the army's training office.

The recruits are drawn from all seven regions of the country. The government aims to avoid the sectarian divisions and ideological lapses that plagued previous national armies.

Uganda has decades of experience in counter-rebellion operations. Previously, it has trained South Sudanese and Somali forces.

After multiple successive political and security crises weakened the Central African army, FACA’s General Staff aims to rebuild its forces through Uganda and its military academy in Kampala, while still relying heavily on Russian support.

This marks a diversification of partnerships, as in recent years Russia has been one of the few actors providing training to Central African soldiers.