Australian Woman Army Officer Appointed To Command UN Peacekeeping Force In Cyprus

Australian Major General Cheryl Pearce has been appointed commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), said a UN statement issued in Nicosia late Thursday.

NICOSIA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) :Australian Major General Cheryl Pearce has been appointed commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), said a UN statement issued in Nicosia late Thursday.

Major Pearce succeeded Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir of Bangladesh, whose assignment ended on Oct. 6.

She is the second woman appointed to command UNFICYP, one of the oldest UN peacekeeping forces established in 1964.

The first UNFICYP woman commander was Major General Kristin Lund of Norway, who was appointed to lead the force in 2014.

Pearce was the commander of the Australian Joint Task Force Group in Afghanistan in 2016, providing training, advice and assistance to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission.

She also served as the Australian Army's Provost-Marshal and a military observer with the UN Mission of Support in East Timor in 2002.