Online Desk: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), according to UNB reports.

Major General Ahsan succeeds Major General Zia Ur Rehman of Pakistan who will complete his assignment at the end of March 2023. The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Ur Rehman for his exemplary service and leadership of MINURSO, said UN Information Centre- Dhaka on Saturday.

Major General Ahsan has over 34 years of national and international military leadership experience with the Bangladeshi Army. He served as General Officer Commanding, of the 10th Infantry Division and as Area Commander of the Cox’s Bazar Area, as Commandant of the Bangladesh Military Academy, and as Brigade Commander in the 16th and 69th Infantry Brigades. He was also the Director of the Military Intelligence Directorate at the Bangladesh Army Headquarters and as Assistant Defense Attache at Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India.

Major General Ahsan has previously served in two peacekeeping missions, in Somalia (UNOSOM-II) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). Major General Ahsan holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master’s Degree in Development Studies, and a Master’s Degree in Defense Studies. He is fluent in English, French, Indonesian and Hindi.