Security Council extends UN presence in Liberia

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended the mandate for one year of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia.

In its unanimously-adopted resolution on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the 15-member Council authorized the force to assist the western African nation with the 2011 general presidential and legislative polls by, among other measures, facilitating access to remote areas.

The Council also endorsed UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon's recommendation to implement the third state of UNMIL's drawdown, made in his most recent report on the mission.

In that report, Ban proposed that the Council authorize the continuation of UNMIL's troop strength of nearly 8,000 until after the 2011 polls, following which the drawdown "resume at an accelerated pace."

UNMIL was set up in 2003 to bolster a ceasefire agreement ending a war that had killed almost 150,000 Liberians, mostly civilians, and sent 850,000 others fleeing to neighboring countries.

As of the end of July, the mission comprised over 11,500 uniformed personnel, more than 1,300 police, nearly 500 international civilian personnel, almost 1,000 local staff and over 200 UN Volunteers (UNV).