United Nations ? The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur on Tuesday to try to help end four years of fighting that has killed more than 200,000 people in the vast Sudanese region.

The force – the first joint peacekeeping mission by the African Union and the United Nations – will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now in Darfur no later than Dec. 31.