UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council agreed to a request by Nepal on Wednesday to extend a peace mission by six months amid stability concerns as the Himalayan nation attempts to rehabilitate Maoist fighters.

The integration of more than 19,000 former rebels, housed in U.N.-supervised camps, with the regular army is essential to capping a 2006 peace deal that ended a civil war and brought the rebels to the political mainstream.

The Maoists and the government have vowed to complete the integration process within six months, but differences remain about how that is to be achieved.

The United Nations was asked to monitor the peace process and assist in elections for a constituent assembly held in April. The Security Council has extended the mission until Jan. 23. The mission's Web site, www.unmin.org, showed that as of April 1 it had 965 people, of which up to 186 are arms monitors.

The Security Council agreed with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's view that no further extensions of the mission should be needed and endorsed Ban's "recommendations for a phased, gradual, drawdown and withdrawal" of the mission.

Ian Martin, Ban's special envoy to Nepal, told the Security Council last week that Nepalis agree that the peace process "is not complete while there are two armies in the country."

"It is to assist Nepal in reaching beyond that still dangerous condition that its main political actors all believe that a limited further presence of (the peace mission) is necessary," Martin said.

Nepal's lawmakers picked the country's first president on Monday, rejecting a candidate backed by former Maoist rebels.

It was the first major vote in a special assembly since lawmakers decided in May to abolish the 239-year-old monarchy and declare a republic. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Patricia Zengerle)

AlertNet news is provided by