UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council Wednesday extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) until May 31, 2010, and called on the force, known as MONUC, to "ensure the effective protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel and facilities."

    The 15-nation Security Council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution to extend the deployment of MONUC, with the intention to extend it after that for a further year.

    Resolution 1906 authorizes to keep the strength of up to 19,815 military personnel, 760 military observers, 391 police personnel and 1,050 personnel of formed police units. MONUC is the largest peacekeeping force deployed by the United Nations.