German general takes command over international peacekeepers in Afghanistan

German Lieutenant-General Goetz Gliemeroth, the head of the NATO United Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, is taking command over the ISAF /International Security Assistance Force/ peacekeeping contingent of the UN mission in Kabul.

Gliemeroth is coming to replace his compatriot, Lieutenant-General Norbert van Heyst, who held this post since February 2003.

General Gliemeroth is the first NATO general to take command over the ISAF contingent after the alliance's decision to step up its activity in this mission. For the past six months, the contingent was topped by Germany and the Netherlands.

The UN's ISAF mission has been functioning in Kabul since December 2001.