United Nations, Rabi'I 13, 1437, December 24, 2015, SPA -- The United Nations announced Wednesday it has appointed a new peacekeeping chief in Mali. Mahamat Saleh Annadif of Chad will replace Tunisia’s Mongi Hamdi, who held the position for only one year. Annadif will start his new role January 15. Annadif served as Chad’s foreign minister from 1997 to 2003 and has participated in several peace processes in Africa, including in Niger, the Central African Republic, and Sudan. He also directed the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) between 2012 and 2014, according to a U.N. statement. Under Hamdi, Mali concluded a peace agreement between the government and Tuareg-led rebels. The U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali, MINUSMA, numbers 10,300. Deployed since mid-2013, it has seen the most casualties of any U.N. mission. --SPA 11:58 LOCAL TIME 08:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w