UN inches towards Somalia force

The AU currently has about 3,600 peacekeepers in Mogadishu

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution agreeing in principle to a peacekeeping force in Somalia.

It also renewed the mandate of the current African Union force but delayed a decision about a UN force until June.

The US and AU have been pushing for a UN presence but finding troops to participate has been difficult because of the dangers in Somalia.

Meanwhile, huge crowds in Mogadishu have been celebrating the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the capital.

Ethiopian forces are pulling out of Somalia, two years after they intervened to try to oust Islamists from Mogadishu.

But their mission to prop up the interim government is widely regarded as a failure as various Islamist groups have recently advanced and once more control much of the country.

Thousands of people gathered on Friday at Mogadishu's football stadium, a former Ethiopian base, where Islamist and clan leaders called on Somalis to solve their own problems and not resort to more violence.

'No peace to keep'

The UN Security Council resolution comes as talks continue in Djibouti between the government and moderate Islamists on power-sharing.

Crowds packed into the former Ethiopian base to hear the speeches

They are trying to agree on the formation of an expanded parliament - from 275 seats to 550 - to include the opposition, and how to select a new president.

Abdullahi Yusuf resigned as president last month after falling out with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein over attempts to negotiate this peace deal.

The opposition is split into various factions, and the more hardline groups do not support the peace process.

Only about 3,600 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers, from an intended 8,000-strong AU force, are deployed in Mogadishu.

Last month UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said few countries were willing to send troops to Somalia, as there was no peace to keep.

Analysts had feared the withdrawal of the Ethiopians would lead to a power vacuum and fighting between rival Islamist factions.

But at the moment all factions - whether they back the peace process with the government or not - seem to be working together.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, since when various militias have been battling for control.