The UN Security Council today extended the UNMISS mandate until 31 July 2016, citing protection of civilians “by all necessary means” as the peacekeeping mission’s top priority.

The Council decided to increase force levels up to 13,000 troops and 2,001 police personnel, up from the 12,500 uniformed personnel that UNMISS currently has on the ground.

The resolution was adopted two weeks after the UN Peacekeeping Chief Hervé Ladsous called for an increase in mission’s forces, in the face of repeated ceasefire violations by both the Government and opposition.

The 15-member Council also asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to prioritize the complete deployment at the new level, including tactical military helicopters and unarmed unmanned aerial systems.

There were, however, concerns among some members over the potential use of unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles, sanctions and technical support for a hybrid court created to prosecute the perpetrators of mass-atrocity crimes.

The resolution kept intact the core elements of the Mission’s mandate to protect civilians, monitor and investigate human rights, as well as to create conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Aiming to enable delivery of existing tasks, especially support for the implementation of the Peace Agreement signed in August, the Council also made changes in the Mission’s mandate.

By the terms of the text adopted today, UNMISS will support implementation of the Agreement in the planning and establishment of agreed transitional security arrangements, including the Joint Operations Centre.

The mission will also support the Agreement’s incorporation into the Transitional Constitution, upon request by the parties, and assist in the permanent constitution-making process.

Today’s resolution also voiced grave concern that according to reports “there are reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity, including those involving extrajudicial killings, rape and other acts of sexual violence, enforced disappearances, the use of children in armed conflict, arbitrary arrests and detention, and attacks on schools and hospitals have been committed by both Government and opposition forces.”

It asked Mr. Ban to develop a plan for UNMISS “to take appropriate action to deter and respond to any escalation of violence in and around Juba (the capital), in order to effectively protect civilians, and to protect critical infrastructure.”

To deter violence against civilians, it called for “proactive deployment, active patrolling with particular attention to IDPs (internally displaced persons), including but not limited to those in protection sites and refugee camps, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders, and identification of threats and attacks against civilians.”

The resolution also urged a mission-wide early warning strategy, including information gathering and monitoring, to counter threats and attacks against civilians, as well as full investigation of abuses against children and women, including all forms of sexual and gender-based vio