The UN peacekeeping chief, Mr Alain Le Roy, who has handled the expansion of global operations over the past three years because of new conflicts and crises, is to leave his post in August, officials said.

The UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, paid tribute to the French diplomat, saying: “This has been a period of extraordinary challenges for the United Nations peacekeeping in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Sudan, Ivory Coast and a dozen other very demanding operations.”

Mr Ban said he “deeply regrets” that Mr Le Roy will not seek a new term after his current appointment expires on August 23.

UN peacekeepers played a key role in forcing the Ivory Coast strongman, Mr Laurent Gbagbo, to leave office this year, while the Haiti earthquake last year and troubles in Sudan and DR Congo have stretched the operation.

There are currently 15 peacekeeping operations around the world using about 100,000 uniformed personnel and 20,000 civilian staff. For the year to June 30, the department had an annual budget of about $7.8 billion.

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