Here is the breakdown of the Central African Republic presidential bodyguards in this picture : Firstly, there are three different armies involved:
the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), Russian soldiers, and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) All of these forces are trained as VIP protection squads. In Russia, they are known as the Presidential Security Service (SBP), while in Rwanda, they are called the Republican Guard.
The Rwanda Defence Force is responsible for H.E. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s full security, and they are the ones who organize everything. The Russians and FACA provide support in this regard. In the photo marked in red, there are three different Rwandan VIP protection units.
The first is the rapid engagement unit, consisting of soldiers with guns and triggers ready to engage at any moment. The second unit is the evacuation guards, who are in uniform but do not have visible guns.
Their main task is to evacuate and shield the president in case of a threat or other direct danger. Lastly, there are the intelligence Presidential officers, who do not wear military uniforms. They can be anyone in the crowd, from a cameraman to a local motorcycle rider who came to watch no one knows where they are, but they are always present. The soldiers in green are FACA presidential guards, who are there to assist and learn from the Rwandans and Russians so that in future they can do it fully.
The Russian soldiers are in yellow. Behind the president is what they call “Number one,” the one on right who is also from Rwanda. Number one is responsible for holding the president’s phone and opening doors for him.
They are the person the president can ask to do anything, like making a call to someone or other agent things while travelling. The president’s residential house is also protected by Rwandans, main facilities in CAR and borders are also protected by Rwanda Defence Force directly or indirectly.
