UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Security Council extended Monday for one month the mandate of a 6,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission and the supporting 4,000 French troops in the war-torn Cote d'Ivoire.

    In a resolution adopted unanimously, the council called on political leaders in Cote d'Ivoire to persist in the search for a just and lasting solution to the stand-off in the West African country's peace process.

    The new mandates of the UN troops and their French counterpartswill expire on May 4. The council hoped that the technical renewalwould give South African President Thabo Mbeki enough time to mediate between the Ivorian government and former rebels.

    In an earlier report to the council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended extending the mission until April 4, 2006 on grounds that the security situation in Cote d'Ivoire remained "highly volatile."

    Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest coco producer and a former French colony, was plunged into a civil war in September 2002 after a failed coup. The government and the rebel force signed a peace deal in January 2003 outside of Paris. But the country remains divided with the government holding the south and the rebel controlling the north. Enditem