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UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday announced the appointment of Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir of Bangladesh as Force Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, known as UNFICYP.
Kabir will succeed Major General Kristin Lund of Norway, who will complete her assignment on July 29, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman said at a daily news briefing here.
The secretary-general pays tribute to Major General Lund's service with UNFICYP, the first female force commander in the UN, where her dedication, professionalism and leadership greatly contributed to the UN efforts in Cyprus.
Major General Kabir has more than 32 years of wide-ranging command and staff experience, and we have more on this in a biographical note in my office.
UNFICYP was originally set up by the UN Security Council in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. After the hostilities of 1974, the Security Council has mandated the Force to perform certain additional functions.
In the absence of a political settlement to the Cyprus problem, UNFICYP has remained on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, maintain a buffer zone, undertake humanitarian activities and support the good offices mission of the secretary-general. Enditem
