Nigerian general appointed as new AU force commander in Darfur

May 23, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — The African Union chief, Alpha Oumar Konare, has appointed General Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria as the new Force Commander in Darfur.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the African body said that Agwai is appointed in consultation with the UN Secretary General; and will report to the AU-UN Joint special envoy for Darfur.

General Agwai will serve first as the Force Commander of the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) and ultimately as the Force Commander for the AU-UN Hybrid Operation. He will be assisted by a Deputy Force Commander.

AU, UN and Sudan agreed in last November on three packages of UN support to the African peacekeepers in Darfur. Up today, Sudan have to accept the third package related to the “hybrid operation” with the deployment of 20.000 peacekeepers in the region under the joint AU-UN command.

General Agwai was born on 8 November 1948 in Kaduna, Nigeria. He has been Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces since 1st June 2006.

Before that, he held several senior positions in the Nigerian Army, including being Chief of Army Staff. In his military career, he also served as Deputy Force Commander of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), and Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the UN Headquarters, in New York. Addis Ababa, 23 May 2007

(ST)