UN approves new AU force to take on al-Shabab in Somalia

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Friday gave the green light to a new African Union force in Somalia that is meant to take on the Islamist armed group al-Shabab, with the soldiers due to deploy in January.


The resolution was adopted by 14 of the council's 15 member states, while the United States abstained due to reservations about funding.


It provides for the replacement of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, whose mandate ends on Dec. 31, by the African...