B'desh names new head of armed forces

Dhaka, June 11 (IANS) The Bangladesh Defence Ministry has named SM Shafiuddin Ahmed as the new Chief of Army Staff.Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Ibne Jayed, Director of the Ministry's Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) department, told Xinhua news agency on Thursday that Ahmed will take charge of the Army in a formal handover on June 24 when the incumbent chief, General Aziz Ahmed formally retires.Shafiuddin Ahmed is currently serving as the Quartermaster General.According to a Ministry notification on Thursday, he will also be promoted to the rank of general before taking up the post.In a report, bdnews24 said that Shafiuddin Ahmed was born to a family of Liberation War freedom fighters in Khulna. He was commissioned into the army in the 9th Bangladesh Military Academy Long Course.In his long career, he took up leadership roles in an infantry division, an infantry brigade and a UN peacekeeping mission.
--IANS ksk/