Gen. Kazura winds up tour of duty in Mali

The Force Commander of the UN Mission in Mali, Gen Jean Bosco Kazura, has completed his tour of duty, 18 months after he was appointed to head the UN peacekeeping mission in the West African nation. Gen. Kazura has been heading the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma), which took over from an African peacekeeping force. The Defence and Military Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Joseph Nzabamwita, yesterday confirmed the development. “We congratulate him for a job well done. He has represented Rwanda Defence Forces and Rwanda well in UN, as Force Commander. RDF is a key contributor to UN in terms of peacekeepers and leadership in several UN leadership positions,” Gen. Nzabamwita said. Minusma was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 2100 and tasked to carry out a number of security-related tasks and support political processes in Mali, including assisting the transitional authorities in extending and re-establishing state administration throughout the country. Separitist fighters had threatened to split the vast country. Its mandate expires in June next year. Prior to his appointment as Force Commander, Gen. Kazura was Commandant of the RDF School of Infantry in Gabiro. According to media reports, Gen. Kazura on Friday toured Timbuktu, one of the bases of the UN forces in the country, where he urged continued vigilance and discipline on the part of Minusma in bid to fully pacify Mali. “At the end of my term, I am a happy even as we faced difficult times early on,” he said, paying tribute to the peacekeepers “who sacrificed themselves for peace and stability not only in Mali but for the entire African continent and elsewhere in the world”. Rwanda in peacekeeping Rwanda is one of the largest troop contributing countries to missions both under the auspices of the United Nations and African Union. Currently, the country has over 2, 300 peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan, serving under the AU-UN hybrid mission in Darfur, and also maintains about 1,700 other peacekeepers in South Sudan, under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Other troops are deployed in Central African Republic where, among the duties they are charged with, is the protection of the interim President Catherine Samba. Rwanda National Police also maintains peacekeepers in a number of countries in Africa and beyond.

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Gen. Kazura winds up tour of duty in Mali