The Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved sending 7,000 peacekeepers to Angola to cement an accord ending 19 years of civil war in the southern African nation.

At the urging of the United States, the peacekeepers will be sent in stages to hold the rival sides to their peace promises and avoid entangling U.N. soldiers in any new large-scale fighting.

“This time peace has come to stay,” said Angolan Foreign Minister Venancio de Moura. Portugal, Angola’s former colonial ruler, and many African countries joined his plea for rapid deployment.