SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS MAJOR GENERAL ELHADJI MOUHAMEDOU KANDJI OF SENEGAL

FORCE COMMANDER OF UN MISSION IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC AND CHAD

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Major General Elhadji Mouhamedou Kandji of Senegal as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).  Major General Kandji will be the first Force Commander of the Mission following the transfer of authority from the European Union forces in Chad and the Central African Republic on 15 March 2009.

Major General Kandji served as Deputy Force Commander in the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) from 2006 until February 2009.  Previously, he held a number of command positions in his country and served in several United Nations peacekeeping operations, including the Second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II), United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).  From 2003 to 2006, Major General Kandji served as Deputy Military Adviser at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

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