By Bicholin K Musisi;

General Sultani Makenga, the military commander of the March 23 Movement, appeared publicly on Monday to preside over the pass-out of more than 1,500 newly trained commandos in North Kivu, a week after the killing of the group’s military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Willy Ngoma.

The ceremony took place at Rumangabo, a strategic military base in rebel-controlled territory, where the movement said 1,518 members of the mobile special forces of the Congolese Revolutionary Army (ARC) had completed training.

In a statement issued by the Alliance Fleuve Congo / M23, the rebels said the new commandos were now “ready to serve, defend and protect civilian populations” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Congolese people, the commandos of the mobile special forces of the Congolese Revolutionary Army have reached the pinnacle of their training,” the statement said.

“Now battle-hardened and irrefragably disciplined, these men stand ready to serve, defend and protect civilian populations left to the throes of a war imposed by Kinshasa.”

Makenga, described by the movement as chief of staff of the ARC and military coordinator of the alliance, addressed the troops during the closing ceremony, telling them their role extended beyond combat operations.

“Being fully operational means more than mastering combat,” Makenga said, according to the statement. “It means embracing the moral responsibility that comes with bearing arms. Defending a territory is defending a dignity.”

Makenga’s appearance comes a week after Ngoma, one of the rebellion’s most visible figures, was killed in Masisi territory.

Rebel officials say Ngoma died on Feb. 24 when a drone struck a convoy he was travelling in shortly after leaving a late-night meeting with other senior commanders.

The strike destroyed several vehicles and killed 19 occupants, including members of his security detail.

“These one thousand five hundred eighteen men cannot be reduced to cold numbers,” the movement said. “They are sons of the Congo… shaped physically and morally through relentless training.”

The ceremony, held in the hills of North Kivu, was presented by the rebels as part of a broader campaign to strengthen their forces as fighting continues across eastern Congo.

“The struggle continues until total liberation,” the statement said.

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been plagued by decades of armed conflict involving government forces and multiple rebel groups competing for territory and influence.

Renewed fighting involving M23 has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and heightened regional tensions.