UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council agreed to increase the peacekeeping force in Somalia to protect civilians from attacks from militant groups, officials said.
The council also asked the African Union to extend its deployment to 12,000 troops, up from 8,000, the BBC reported.
The effort would support Somalia's U.N.-backed government and protect civilians from attacks by the Islamist al-Shabaab and other militant groups.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for two bomb blasts in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, during the soccer World Cup final in July.
Terrorist groups control much of south and central Somalia, with the government in charge of about half of the capital, Mogadishu.
The African Union had called for its force to be increased to 20,000.
Al-Shabaab said it carried out the attacks in retaliation for Uganda's support for Somalia's transitional government.
