Washington D.C.: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appointed a veteran Indian Army official, Lieutenant General (Retired) Abhijit Guha as the head of the UN mission in Hodeidah, Yemen.
Guha has also been appointed as the Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of the UNMHA.
The Indian Army official is tasked with leading the UN oversight of a ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah. The truce went into effect in December after peace talks in Sweden between Yemen’s government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been fighting with each other since 2015.
Guha thus brings his 39 years of national and international military experience. He was the Deputy Military Adviser and the Military Adviser within the Office of Military Affairs of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2009-2013, while also establishing the Office of [eacekeeping and Strategic Partnerships in 2013.
He has also held a number of significant commands, staff and instructional appointments within the Indian Army including leadership of an Infantry Brigade and Infantry Division.
After his retirement from the Indian Army in 2013, General Guha served on the Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping (2014) and the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (2015).
