Africa News
UN mulls deploying more peacekeepers to Somalia (correction)
Feb 1, 2012, 17:13 GMT
New York - The UN Security Council was urged Wednesday to consider strengthening the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to more than 17,700 troops in total to boost any chance of political and security reforms in that country.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked the council to add more than 5,700 uniformed troops to the mission's current 12,000 military personnel and enhance its ability to carry out its mandate of assisting the government in Mogadishu.
'While the political and security situation on the ground remains fragile, prospects for positive change appear greater than they have been for recent years,' Ban said in a report to the council.
The UN re-opened an office in Mogadishu last month for the first time in nearly two decades as the country went through periods of warfare. The UN mission in Somalia is mostly composed of African troops, with a mandate approved by the African Union.
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