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New UNAMSIL commander arrives

[Sierra Leone] Progressive women's association (PROWA) in Kono district tries to sensitize vulnerable women and girls on HIV/AIDS. [May 2006] Victoria Averill/IRIN
Trop de jeunes femmes et filles ignorent encore tout des risques qu'elles courent d'être infectées au VIH
    KOIDU

    The new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Lt-Gen Daniel Opande, arrived in Freetown on Saturday, saying he expected cooperation with all sides to restore peace.

    “I have trust in all parties in the conflict,” he said, according to the BBC.

    Opande arrived with his British chief of staff, Brigadier Alistair Duncan, UNAMSIL spokeswoman Hirut Befacadu told IRIN on Monday. She said Opande’s deputy, Nigeria’s Maj-Gen Martin Agwai, was due sometime near the weekend.

    Opande and Duncan replace outgoing Force Commander Maj-Gen Vijay Jetley of India and Deputy Force Commander Brig-Gen Mohammed Garba of Nigeria.
    India and Jordan have announced the pull out of their forces from Sierra Leone by the end of December. This will create a sizable shortfall in the 13,000-man UN contingent. UNAMSIL said in a briefing published on Friday that it had information that Pakistan and South Africa might offer troops.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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