UN votes to increase force in Somalia

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to authorise an increase in the African Union(AU) force in Somalia from 12,000 to about 17,700 and expand its areas of operation in an effort to intensify pressure on al-Shabab militants who recently joined al-Qaeda.

As part of its strategy to weaken al-Shabab, the council also ordered a ban on the export and import of charcoal from Somalia, calling the fuel "a significant revenue source" for the militant group.

The council adopted the resolution on the eve of a conference on Somalia on Thursday in London, where senior representatives from more than 40 governments and international organisations are expected to adopt a new approach to the country's myriad problems.

"This is an important resolution, an important building block toward tomorrow's conference," Britain's UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said.

He said the British-sponsored resolution gives the AU force, known as AMISOM, the troops and resources necessary to capitalise on the gains it made in pushing al-Shabab fighters out of the capital, Mogadishu, and to increase the military pressure.

The resolution authorises a troop ceiling of 17,731 and expands AMISOM's operations to the Juba area in the south and Baidoa, a major base for al-Shabab in south-central Somalia which Ethiopian and Somali forces are trying to retake. It also increases the UN logistics package for AMISOM, including for the first time funds for nine utility helicopters and three attack helicopters.

The council also strengthened AMISOM's mandate, for the first time authorising the force "to take all necessary measures as appropriate ... to reduce the threat posed by al-Shabab" in its areas of operation, in conjunction with Somali security forces.

"An expanded, better resourced AMISOM will help increase areas of stability in Somalia, it will help the political process in Somalia by enabling Somalis outside the capital to take part in the political and constitutional process, making that process more representative and legitimate," Lyall Grant said. "Expanding AMISOM to areas beyond Mogadishu will increase the pressure on al-Shabab, further decreasing the space available to them."