Kathmandu. Rathi Ganesh Kumar Shrestha of the Nepali Army has been appointed as the Force Commander by the United Nations. He became the force commander of the United Nations Interim Security Force deployed in the Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan. He was chosen by the United Nations based on open competition. Earlier, Major General Robert Afram of Ghana was in charge. The United Nations published a statement and appointed him.

Abyei is a disputed land between Sudan and South Sudan. Which is recognized by the United Nations as a special administrative region. The United Nations has deployed a separate peacekeeping force in Abyei. Rathi Shrestha will command the entire security force. According to the spokesperson of the Nepali Army, Rajaram Basnet, Rathi Shrestha will be posted there after receiving the official letter about the appointment. "There has been no formal correspondence regarding the appointment," he says, "He will be appointed after the formal letter."

Shrestha is the eighth military officer from the Nepali Army to become a force commander in the UN peacekeeping mission. Earlier, Krishna Narayan Singh Thapa, Victory Shamsher Jabra, Balanand Sharma, Pawanjung Thapa, Poornchandra Thapa, Ishwar Hamal and Nirmal Kumar Thapa held the charge of Force Commander.

Nepal currently ranks first in deploying many security forces in UN peacekeeping. Rathi Shrestha's military career spans over 36 years. He has been carrying out various responsibilities in the Nepali Army and has performed excellently in serious roles such as team command, operation planning, training management and international coordination.