MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan General to command Cyprus UN peace mission

Uruguayan General Hebert Figoli will be taking over December 29 as the next commander of the United Nations peace keeping force in Cyprus. UN troops have been in Cyprus, a former British colony, since the follow up of the 1963 armed conflict between local Greek and Turkish communities.

This is the first time a Uruguayan officer will hold such an outstanding post in the United Nations peace keeping missions. General Figoli will have under his command a force of 1,300 troops from Great Britain, Australia, Argentina, Ireland, Austria, Canada, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.

The Uruguayan officer was previously UN observer in the disputed Kashmir borderline between Pakistan and India; Head of UN Military Personnel in Cambodia; UN Chief of Staff in Tajikistan and lately director of the Uruguayan High Studies Centre.

Uruguayan Armed Forces have been involved in United Nations peace keeping missions for over half a century.