UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The U.N. Security Council on Thursday voted to extend by one year the mandate of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which was to expire the same day.

    Of the 15-member body, 14 voted in favor of a Britain-sponsored resolution endorsing the extension, while the United States abstained.

    In its resolution, the council also took note of the African Union (AU)'s July 21 communique as well as its concerns "regarding potential developments subsequent to" ICC (International Criminal Court) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

    Following an emergency meeting on July 21 in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the AU issued a communique urging the UN Security Council to suspend the ICC's indictment of al-Bashir.

    South Africa and Libya proposed an amendment calling for the suspension of the ICC indictment for one year, a move opposed by some Western nations, including the United States and France.

    After days of haggling over the text, council members on Wednesday worked out the final compromise version that, instead of including the amendment, only indirectly refers to the AU's suspension call and its concerns.

    In a statement after the vote, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said Washington supports UNAMID's mandate extension but abstained from the vote "because language added to the resolution would send the wrong signal" to al-Bashir and undermine efforts to bring him and others to justice.

    Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers said that he was against considering the ICC issue as part of the UNAMID mandate.

    With the resolution, the Security Council has made no promise of taking any action on the ICC's indictment of al-Bashir, he said.

    Some council members, including Vietnam, South Africa, Libya, China and Russia, expressed concern about the ICC indictment's potential negative impact on the Darfur peace process.

    Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said it was "unfortunate" that the council did not act on the ICC move because of "resistance by a number of Security Council members."

    He warned that the position taken by these council members could lead to "unforeseen negative consequences" and that "the responsibility lies fully on their shoulders."

    On July 14, Moreno-Ocampo formally requested that an arrest warrant be issued against al-Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

    Under Article 16 of the ICC statute, the 15-member body can pass a resolution to defer an ICC investigation or prosecution for a period of 12 months. Such a resolution can subsequently be renewed.

    Sudan, which vehemently opposes the ICC action, has garnered support from major international bodies including the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Arab League and the Non-aligned Movement.

    The Security Council resolution also called on member states "to pledge and contribute the helicopters, aerial reconnaissance, ground transport, engineering and logistical units and other force enablers required."

    In a resolution adopted in July last year, the Security Council authorized the deployment of up to 26,000 troops in Darfur. But as of May 31 this year, the mission had only a total of 9,563 uniformed personnel, whose capabilities were limited due to the shortage of helicopters and other back-up resources.

    Thursday's resolution also underlined the "importance of raising the capability of those UNAMID battalions formerly deployed by the African Union mission in Sudan and other incoming battalions."

    The council welcomed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's call for the deployment of 80 percent of the hybrid mission by the end of this year, and urged the Sudanese government, troop contributors and all other stakeholders "to do all they can to facilitate this."