Land Forces commanders from across Africa convened in Kigali, Rwanda, for the second Land Forces Commanders Symposium 2025, a high-level forum focused on building continental cooperation to solve the region’s complex security challenges. Hosted by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), the two-day event operated under the theme, “Leveraging Land Forces Capabilities for Enhanced Implementation of Peace and Security Initiatives.”
The discussions sought to move beyond policy and address the practical, on-the-ground difficulties of mounting joint operations against shared, non-state threats. The symposium aimed to foster a doctrine of “African ownership” over security problems that impede development.
Rwanda as a Modern COIN Model
The choice of Kigali as the venue was pertinent. Rwanda is one of Africa’s most professional and active troop-contributing countries. The RDF is currently engaged in a demanding, non-UN counter-insurgency (COIN) mission against the Ansar al-Sunna insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
This deployment, which runs parallel to a separate Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission, has been noted for its effectiveness and provides a real-world laboratory for the very capabilities discussed at the symposium. The RDF’s model of a well-trained, disciplined, and proactive land force capable of rapid stabilisation is one that many partners wish to study.
The symposium brought together military leaders and defence experts from across the continent and beyond. Attendees included the Commander of the Kenya Army, Lieutenant General David Ketter, whose forces are deeply engaged in COIN operations against al-Shabaab in Somalia and internal security operations.
The Asymmetric Threat Matrix
The central topic was the operational shift from preparing for conventional state-on-state warfare to confronting “complex and unpredictable” asymmetric conflicts. Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda, noted this in his closing remarks.
The threats facing the commanders in attendance are transnational and fluid. They include the persistent al-Shabaab insurgency in East Africa, the multi-faceted jihadist conflicts spanning the Sahel, and the brutal ADF insurgency in the dense jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These conflicts are not fought with main battle tanks or conventional force-on-force doctrine. They are defined by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ambushes, and information warfare. Victory depends on light, mobile infantry, special operations forces, and, critically, robust intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
The Interoperability Challenge
A primary objective of the symposium was enhancing interoperability, which remains a substantial hurdle for multilateral African-led peace operations like the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
Interoperability in this context involves tangible, technical challenges. Commanders on the ground often struggle with incompatible communications equipment, forcing units from different countries to use insecure commercial networks for coordination. They also face different, and sometimes conflicting, Rules of Engagement (ROE), divergent logistics systems, and separate Command and Control (C2) structures.
The symposium pushed for more bilateral agreements to complement these large multilateral frameworks. Such agreements allow forces like those from Kenya and Rwanda, which share regional threats, to align their operational doctrines, technical standards for secure radios, and professional military education (PME) before a crisis, ensuring units can integrate effectively when deployed.
Minister Marizamunda emphasized the evolving role of land forces beyond just combat. He described them as “the first responders in times of crisis… the stabilizing force during turmoil, and the foundation upon which peace is rebuilt.” This reflects the hybrid nature of modern security, where armies are called upon for both COIN operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), especially in regions facing climate-related instability.
The event concluded with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. The visit served as a powerful reminder to the assembled commanders of the catastrophic cost of national and international security failures, reinforcing the urgency of their mission to build professional, responsive, and cooperative land forces.