The United Nations Security Council is extending the mission of the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region for another year.
In a resolution unanimously adopted Thursday, the council extended the mandate of the force (UNAMID) until July 31, 2010.
The United Nations and African Union are in the final phase of deploying the world's largest peacekeeping mission in the troubled region.
U.N. officials have said they expect 26,000 soldiers to be in Darfur by the end of this year.
Darfur rebel groups took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, accusing it of neglecting Darfur.
The United Nations estimates 300,000 people have died during the conflict. Sudan's government gives a much lower figure of 10,000 war-related deaths.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
