UN mandate extended in Darfur

The UN's peacekeeping mandate in Darfur has been extended for another year after last-minute wrangling. A request from the African Union that the UN postpone the the International Criminal Court indictment of Sudan's president for war crimes had almost scuppered the resolution to extend the mandate, but a compromise solution was reached. The final resolution notes the request from the AU, but that is all.

The African Union says that prosecuting Omar al-Bashir will set back peace in Darfur, and its request was supported by Libya, South Africa, Russia and China. But the UK, France, the US and central American countries insisted it should not be written in to the mandate.

The final wording was agreed by 14 of the security council's 15 members - the US abstained, saying that to even include a note of the AU request sent the wrong signal.