UN chief appoints Major General Hassen Ebrahim Mussa of Ethiopia to head peacekeeping force in Abyei

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Major General Hassen Ebrahim Mussa of Ethiopia as Force Commander of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

He succeeds Lieutenant General Birhanu Jula Gelalcha of Ethiopia, who will complete his assignment on 20 January. In a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he is “grateful to Lieutenant General Gelalcha for his dedication and effective leadership of UNISFA as head of the military component.”

Major General Mussa has a long and distinguished career with the Ethiopian Armed Forces, and is currently serving as the Head of Peacekeeping Coordination Center in the Ethiopian Armed Forces.

He graduated from the Ethiopian Defence Command and Staff College in 2005 and was a Corps Commander in the Ethiopian Armed Forces from 2011 to 2012. He previously served as the Sector Commander North in the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), where he gained valuable experience in UN peacekeeping.

Prior to this, he held a number of other appointments within the Ethiopian Armed Forces, starting in 1995.