UN takes key steps toward Somalia’s takeover of its own security

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously to authorize the African Union to maintain its peacekeeping operation in Somalia until the end of the year. It is also calling for plans for a successor mission, which is a key step toward the country’s takeover of its own security. The British-sponsored resolution adopted Thursday authorizes the AU to continue to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, including 1,040 police, for the transitional peacekeeping mission until Dec. 31. It requests the U.N. political mission in Somalia to continue providing logistical support to the African peacekeepers. Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador told the council after the vote that “the resolution comes at a critical moment in Somalia’s security transition.”