President Félix Tshisekedi opened the country’s first War School, the second in Central Africa, according to the Congolese presidency. This third level school is the result of cooperation with France.
This project is the product of the visit to Kinshasa of Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in May 2019. The two countries agreed at the time to work together on the creation of a War School for the training of future officers of the armed forces of the DRC (FARDC). The school was inaugurated yesterday Tuesday by the president accompanied by Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga.
The school welcomes the first 25 trainees of its first promotion in a modest and temporary building at the Military Higher Centre. These have temporary infrastructures,” announced Army General Célestin Mbala Munsense, Chief of General Staff of the FARDC, “until the Congolese government is able to mobilize resources for the erection of permanent infrastructures within the first defence zone. The mission of the Kinshasa war school is to prepare senior military officers for the exercise of responsibility […], command and direction where defence and security policy is developed and implemented”.
At the end of the training, the head of the Congolese army explained that “the officers will be able to manage a crisis involving the participation of the armed forces, according to a comprehensive approach. They will also be able to effectively deal with the preparation of forces and structural reforms in the field of defence and security.
President Félix Tshisekedi himself cut the inaugural ribbon, launching the very first academic year. France is involved in logistics and human resources. The department of studies has moreover been entrusted to a senior French officer.
For François Pujolas, the French ambassador posted in Kinshasa, the creation of this school is a response to the need for training of Congolese officers: “This school is a concrete high-level response. If war is both a science and an art, those who lead it must learn and reflect to ensure the success of armies».
The inauguration of the War School took place in a special context. The country is witnessing an increase in violence and armed conflict in its eastern provinces. The security forces are regularly accused of abuses in UN reports, and the UN has consistently called for an improvement in the overall level of Congolese troops.