The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory for a month while it considers a French proposal to increase the number of peacekeepers there. The Security Council said the situation in the country «continues to pose a threat to international peace and security in the region» and extended the peacekeeping mission's mandate until June 4, AP reported. It called on both sides in the West African country to implement a peace deal mediated last month by South African President Thabo Mbeki. The council also welcomed the annoucement last month by Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo that would allow Alassane Ouattara, the top opposition leader, to stand in presidential elections set for October. The resolution to extend the Ivory Coast mission was necessary because its mandate ended Wednesday. France has circulated another draft U.N. Security Council resolution which would increase the size of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast by more than 2,000 people. Some 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers and 4,000 French troops are in the country. It would also expand the peacekeepers' mandate, allowing them to help monitor the disarming of militias as well as monitor an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council last November. The French draft resolution also calls for a high representative to help oversee the elections. France believes a high-profile figure, designated by the U.N. Secretary-General after consultations with Mbeki and the African Union, is needed to ensure the elections are free and fair. The representative would be independent from the U.N. mission. Ivory Coast has been split into a rebel-held north and loyalist south since a September 2002 coup attempt propelled the world's largest cocoa grower into civil war.
