U.N. approves drawdown of Liberia force

The U.N. Security Council voted Thursday to reduce the number of United Nations peacekeepers in Liberia, saying the country's security forces are being steadily rebuilt but warning that peace is still fragile.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the council endorsed recommendations set out in a report from the secretary-general in August that said Liberia was a "generally stable country" and that the current forces _ 14,000 troops and 1,000 police _ could be reduced.

The council accepted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's proposal for the withdrawal of 2,450 troops starting in October and 498 police starting in April 2008. The resolution also extended the U.N. mission's mandate in the country, which was set to expire at the end of this month, through September 2008.

Liberia, one of the world's poorest countries, has been battered by back-to-back civil wars from 1989 to 2003 that left 200,000 people dead, and displaced half the country's 3 million people. The west African nation _ created to settle freed American slaves in 1847 _ is still struggling to recover.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission has been in Liberia since a 2003 peace deal ended the fighting.

The U.N. report detailed progress on rebuilding the nation's security forces, improvements in preventing human rights abuses, and steps toward a national reconciliation plan, but warned that the peace in the country is "fragile," a situation exacerbated by the volatility of the region.

Ban's report praised Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the strides the country has made, including increasing public revenues by 48 percent, restoring water and electricity to parts of the capital for the first time in 15 years and implementing a plan for poverty reduction.

Along with reports of progress, though, both Ban and the council stressed that Liberia is still a nation at risk, where poverty and the presence of disgruntled former combatants could still conspire to send the country back into lawlessness.

The council's resolution commended the mission's work on reintegrating ex-combatants and protecting the rights of women and children, but it said "significant challenges" remain, including establishing the rule of law throughout the country.

"The situation in Liberia continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region," the resolution said.

Earlier this month. Liberia shipped its first consignment of diamonds since the U.N. imposed sanctions in 2001 banning the export of so-called "blood diamonds."

The precious gems were smuggled to fuel the cross-border conflict that ravaged Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone for more than a decade. The government now hopes the restored trade will create much-needed jobs in a country with 85 percent unemployment.