BAMAKO, Mali, June 17 (UPI) -- Rwandan Maj. Gen. Jean Bosco Kazura will lead the U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
Kazura will assume command July 1, when the transfer of authority from the African-led International Support Mission in Mali to the U.N. "blue helmet" peacekeepers is to occur, the United Nations said in a release.
Until this appointment, Kazura was the commandant of the Rwandan Defense Forces Combat Training Center since December 2011.
In April, the U.N. Security Council approved the 12,600-member stabilization mission to assume responsibility from the African-led mission in Mali. As part of their charge, the U.N. forces can use "all necessary means" to carry out security-related stabilization tasks; protect civilians, U.N. staff and cultural artifacts; and create conditions for to allow for the provision of humanitarian aid.
The mission's core task is support the political process in Mali in close coordination with the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, the United Nations said.
France began withdrawing its troops from Mali last month, although tanks and most heavy patrol vehicles remain in northern Mali, where a coalition of French and Malian troops has been fighting al-Qaida-affiliated forces since January.
The U.N. peacekeeping force is expected to arrive ahead of Mali's nationwide elections in July.
