Chinese Major General Zhao Jingmin took office on Monday in
Western Sahara's capital Laayoun as force commander of the United
Nations mission for the referendum in the former Spanish colony
(MINURSO).
Zhao, who succeeded General Kurt Mosgaard of Denmark, is the
first Chinese officer to be appointed by the UN as a peacekeeping
force commander.
"The appointment has shown the UN's trust in the capability of a
Chinese military officer and the appreciation of China's 17 years
of active participation in UN peacekeeping missions," Zhao told
Xinhua by telephone.
Zhao had been a senior officer at the Office of Peacekeeping
Affairs in China's National Defense Ministry since October 2003.
From 1996 to 1997 he served as a liaison officer with the UN
Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM). He also served in MINURSO
as a military observer from September 1991 to June 1992.
Western Sahara, a mostly desert region, is located on the
northwest African Atlantic coast. Morocco, who currently controls
Western Sahara, and the Algeria-backed Popular Front for the
Liberation of Western Sahara had fought a war over the territory
for more than a decade in the last century.
In 1991, the UN peacekeeping force, MINURSO, was set up to
monitor the ceasefire between the two sides and organize a
referendum on the future of Western Sahara.
However, the referendum has been delayed due to serious
disagreements between the warring parties and the mandate of
MINURSO has been renewed repeatedly.
Currently, MINURSO consists of more than 220 military observers,
12 of whom are Chinese. Since the mission's foundation 16 years
ago, 14 peacekeepers have died in the line of duty.
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2007)
