UN extends Congo mandate

The UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the 16,700-member UN peacekeeping mission in Congo for a year and add 300 troops.

The small addition yesterday is far less than the 2,580 troops that Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested. To underscore that the 300 troops were a temporary addition, the council asked Annan to reduce the force by that number by July at the latest.