Peacekeeper named temporary head of U.S. embassy in Cairo

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The head of an international peacekeeping force has been named temporary charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, the State Department said Friday.

David M. Satterfield will fill in for Ambassador Anne Patterson, who is returning to Washington after being nominated assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, the department said in a statement.

Patterson has held the position in Cairo for two years.

Satterfield is taking a leave of absence as director general of the Multinational Force and Observers, a peacekeeping group in the Sinai established in 1981.

He is expected to return to MFO post later in the year.