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UN chief appoints new Force Commander of MINUSCA

Xinhua, February 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Balla Keita of Senegal as the Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Lieutenant General Keita succeeds Major General Martin Chomu Tumenta of Cameroon, who passed away on Nov. 30, 2015, according to Ban's spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General was deeply saddened by Major General Tumenta's untimely death and reiterates his appreciation for the late Force Commander's contribution to the work of the United Nations," said the spokesperson in an email to the press.

Since Nov. 7, 2015, Lieutenant General Keita has served as Acting Force Commander of MINUSCA. Previously, he served in the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as Deputy Force Commander from 2013 to 2015 and as Sector Commander from 2007 to 2010, said the spokesperson.

Born in 1956, he is married and has four children, said the spokesperson.

Concerned with the security, humanitarian, human rights and political crisis in the Central African Republic and its regional implications, the Security Council authorized on April 10, 2014 deployment of a multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping operation - MINUSCA, with the protection of civilians as its utmost priority., according to MINUSCA's website. Enditem