UNITED NATIONS, April 8 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Marcos De Sa Affonso Da Costa of Brazil as force commander for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Affonso Da Costa succeeds Lieutenant General Ricardo Augusto Ferreira Costa Neves of Brazil who completed his assignment on March 31 and to whom the secretary-general is deeply grateful for his important contribution and service to MONUSCO, according to a press note issued by the UN chief's office.
Affonso Da Costa has several years of experience in command and control structures in the Brazilian Army, serving since 2019 as chief of land forces preparation, in charge of coordinating the military training and managing the operational capability and readiness of Brazilian land forces. Prior to that, he served as commander of the officers' improvement school.
He has held several other command positions, including brigade commander in the 15th Mechanized Infantry (2016-2018), commander of the cadets' preparatory school (2014-2016) and commander of the 2nd Jungle Infantry Battalion (2008-2011), specialized in jungle environment operations. He also has international experience, having served as liaison officer in the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III (UNAVEM III) and in the Brazilian military missions in Peru and France.
Affonso Da Costa holds a bachelor's degree in administration. He is fluent in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. Enditem
