AFC-M23 coordinator Corneille Nangaa and Maj Gen Sultan Makenga, the military commander
GOMA — The AFC-M23 rebel coalition has added 9,318 newly trained commandos to its armed wing, in a major graduation ceremony held around July 20, 2026, at Tchanzu in Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu.
The ceremony was presided over by General Sultani Makenga, the military commander and chief of staff of the ARC. He urged the recruits to maintain discipline, protect civilians and support the group’s broader campaign against the Kinshasa government.
AFC-M23 released images and videos of the event, presenting the graduates as battle-ready commandos prepared to defend civilians and advance what the group describes as its “liberation” effort in eastern Congo.
The latest graduation is one of several large-scale recruitment and training exercises conducted by AFC-M23 since late 2025 as the group expanded its control over territory in North and South Kivu.
A June 2026 report by the United Nations Group of Experts estimated that AFC-M23’s armed wing had about 30,000 combatants at the time.
With the addition of the 9,318 new recruits, the group’s strength could now approach 40,000 troops, although the updated figure has not been independently verified by the United Nations.
The ceremony
The UN report said the 30,000 estimate included the group’s core fighters, new recruits, and former members of the Congolese army, police and local militias who had joined or been integrated into the movement.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing the rebel group, saying its security actions are aimed at countering threats from armed groups operating near its border, including the FDLR militia, whose members are responsible for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
The rapid growth of AFC-M23’s forces follows the group’s capture of Goma in January 2025, during which Congolese army units abandoned large quantities of military equipment, including weapons, ammunition and aircraft at Goma International Airport. Reports from the period also noted that a Sukhoi military aircraft was among the assets left behind.
Government of Rwanda has argued that the heavy concentration of Congolese military assets in Goma reflected a broader strategy by Kinshasa aimed at destabilizing Rwanda and supporting hostile armed groups.
Previous AFC-M23 graduation ceremonies included about 7,437 commandos in Rumangabo in September 2025, 9,350 commandos in Tchanzu in October 2025, 7,532 commandos in Tchanzu in February 2026, and 1,518 special forces commandos in Rumangabo in March 2026.
The expansion of AFC-M23’s forces comes despite ongoing ceasefire efforts under the Qatar-mediated peace process between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rebel coalition.
