UNITED NATIONS ( CNN ) -- The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday expressing its intent to , eventually , send U.N. peacekeeping forces back to the fractured , unstable nation of Somalia . Islamist insurgents display their weaponry Friday in Mogadishu during a parade . The resolution was sponsored by the U.S. , in one of the final Bush Administration initiatives at the United Nations . The passage of the resolution follows the exit of a U.N.-backed , Ethiopian peacekeeping force that completed a two-year deployment in Somalia Thursday . There is wide-spread concern among diplomats and regional leaders in the Horn of Africa that , with the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces , a power vacuum will be filled in Somalia by regional Islamic extremist groups , some with links to al-Qaeda . The U.N. resolution sets forth a process that aims to bring stability and sovereignty to Somalia , which has been racked by violence and lawlessness since the government was overthrown in 1991 . First , the resolution expresses renewed support that an African Union force currently deployed in Somalia -- known as AMISOM -- remains on the ground . The A.U . contingent is currently comprised of 2,600 troops . The U.N. resolution calls on the African Union to strengthen those levels to 8,000 . The resolution then requests that U.N. Secretary-General , Ban Ki-Moon , submit a report by April 15 , 2009 updating the situation in Somalia , and it asks that he develop the mandate for a U.N. peacekeeping force . Finally , a decision on U.N. peacekeeping is requested by June 1 , 2009 . However , the process is off to a rocky start . Last month , Ban said that requests to U.N. member nations for peacekeeping forces for Somalia were received negatively . Also , throughout , one of the key players in the Somalia decisions will likely be Susan Rice , President-Elect Obama 's nominee for new U.S.- U.N . Ambassador , and a specialist on African issues . At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington on Thursday , Rice told senators that she is `` skeptical about the wisdom of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Somalia at this time . ''
Resolution expresses intent to send U.N. peacekeeping forces to Somalia . The resolution in war - torn country was sponsored by the United States . Ethiopian military has completed two - year mission in Somalia . Regional leaders believe vacuum will be filled by Islamic extremist ##s .