UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - African nations pressed the United Nations on Monday to supply peacekeeping backup for turbulent Somalia similar to that initially provided for Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
A Security Council meeting on Somalia heard a request from the African Union to match one of two support packages, known as "light" and "heavy," that were voted through to try to end the Darfur violence, diplomats said.
The council responded with a draft resolution that called for more contingency planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace an AU force in Somalia, but without committing itself to sending one.
The United Nations, the AU and Sudan agreed last year on a three-phase plan to bolster AU forces in Darfur. An initial "light support package" had some 135 U.N. troops and police, plus advisers and civilian staff. In April, Khartoum agreed to a "heavy" package of 3,600 troops, police and civilians. Last month, a much larger "hybrid" U.N.-AU force was approved.
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