United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Balla Keïta of Senegal as the Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Lieutenant General Keïta succeeds Major General Martin Chomu Tumenta of Cameroon, who passed away on 30 November 2015. The Secretary-General was deeply saddened by Major General Tumenta’s untimely death and reiterates his appreciation for the late Force Commander’s contribution to the work of the United Nations.

Lieutenant General Keïta brings with him over 40 years of national and international military experience. Since 7 November 2015, he has served as Acting Force Commander of MINUSCA. Previously, he served in the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) as Deputy Force Commander from 2013 to 2015 and as Sector Commander from 2007 to 2010. Lieutenant General Keïta has also held a variety of senior level positions in his national capacity, including as Inspector General of the Senegalese Armed Forces from 2012 to 2013.

Lieutenant General Keïta is a graduate of the French “ École militaire inter-armes de Coëtquidan”, the United States Command and General Staff College of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the German War College of Hamburg.
Born in 1956, he is married and has four children.

New York, 11 February 2016