New York  - The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday extended the mandate of its large peacekeeping operation in Haiti by 12 months, while the government there is strengthening its national police force to assume the security role now being performed by the UN.

The UN mission's new mandate will expire October 15 next year. It is now composed of 7,060 military troops and 2,091 police from dozens of countries.

The council said in a resolution that it extended the UN mandate "until the planned substantial increase of the Haitian National Police capacity to allow for a reassessment of the situation."

It said the composition of the UN mission will be reassessed and realigned to reflect the situation on the ground. The UN mission has been in Haiti since 2004 to assist the government in Port-au-Prince carry out political reform and restore security. (dpa)