Off the wire
• Mudslides kill 7 in E Tajikistan  • Ohio governor John Kasich enters race for 2016 U.S. Presidential Election  • "BRIC" creator Jim O'Neill expects longer golden time in UK-China relations  • Xinhua world news summary at 1630 GMT, July 21  • Estonia tries to resettle EU-rationed refugees  • Guangdong on flood alert  • Environmental ministry encourages whistleblowing on dereliction of duty  • U.S. stocks slide on profit taking  • Center for ancient Tibetan books restoration established  • (Special for CAFS) Zambian mine suspends operations after cave-in kills 4  
You are here: 　 Home

New Zealand general named to lead UN truce monitoring body

Xinhua, July 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Major General Arthur David Gawn of New Zealand will be the new chief of the UN's oldest peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Tuesday.

UNTSO was established in 1948 in the Middle East and it is currently responsible for contributing to peace in the region through monitoring ceasefires, supervising armistice agreements and helping prevent isolated incidents from escalating.

Gawn, who has been the chief of the New Zealand army since 2013, also has experience with UN peacekeeping in Bosnia in 1994 and Timor-Leste in 2000, said a UN spokesman here.

He will replace Major General Michael Finn of Ireland after Finn completes his assignment on July 31, the spokesman added. Endite