Military commander of AU-UN force arrives to Sudan

June 2, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The newly appointed Force Commander of the African Union Mission in the Sudan, Gen Martin Luther Agwai, arrived in Khartoum from Addis Ababa today, the AUMIS said today.

Gen. Agwai who is the man who will command AU peacekeepers in Darfur and later on the UN-AU Hybrid Force when it is deployed, said after his arrival that he was pleased and honoured to be in Sudan and looked forward to working with AMIS staff to accomplish his mission.

He was received at the Khartoum international airport by AMIS senior officials. He later met with the Acting Head of Mission, Mrs. Monique Mukaruliza and other officials at AMIS headquarters in Khartoum to review the current state of the Mission.

Gen Agwai was appointed AMIS Force Commander in Darfur in May, 2007 by the AU Commission Chairperson, Alpha Oumar Konaré, in consultation with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in accordance with the communiqué of the 66th meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council, held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 November 2006.

Prior to his appointment as AMIS Force Commander, Gen Agwai was Chief of Defence Staff for the Nigerian Armed Forces. He has served as Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and Deputy Military Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at UN Headquarters in New York.

The new Force Commander will meet with senior GoS officials in Khartoum before travelling to Darfur, to take up his functions.

(ST)