UN Appoints Major General Kefyalew as UNISFA Force Commander

Addis Ababa June 16/2020 (ENA) UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday announced the appointment of Major General Kefyalew Amde Tessema as Force Commander for the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

Kefyalew succeeds Major General Mehari Zewdie Gebremariam, who will complete his assignment on 7 July.

The appointee has a distinguished military career with the Ethiopian Armed Forces spanning more than 30 years and has been Council Member of the Ethiopian Ministry of National Defence since 2017.

Most recently, he served as the Head of the Main Engineering Department of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, responsible for planning, coordinating, managing, organizing, training and reporting on related engineering activities.

Previously, Kefyalew served as the Western Command Commander from 2017 to 2018, Deputy Central Commander from 2016 to 2017, and the Division Commander from 2012 to 2016, among other appointments within the Ethiopian Armed Forces.

In 2015, he served as an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Sector Commander in Somalia.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Ashland University in the United States and a Bachelor of Arts degree in command and control of military unity and formation from the Russian Federation Compound Force Academy.