Somali government responds to UN arms embargo extension
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United Nations Ambassador to Somalia Amb. Abukar Dahir Osman Bale has spoken about the UN Security Council decision to renew arms embargo on Somalia.
Ambassador Bale said the Somali government has been given full authority to detect any weapons entering Somalia, including Somaliland, at a time when the UN Security Council is committed to maintaining a one-year arms embargo on Somalia.
He also said it was important at this time to lift all sanctions against Somalia, which have been in place since 1992, the year after the fall of the central government, when government weapons fell into the hands of civilians.
“We emphasize the importance of identifying clearly defined, realistic and measurable standards, in consultation with the Federal Government of Somalia, and the complete lifting of all sanctions on Somalia,” the ambassador said.
The United Nations Security Council has in recent years renewed arms embargoes on Somalia, particularly a ban on the purchase of heavy weapons.
The council noted that the sale or export of explosives and the export of charcoal to Somalia, which is said to be funded by al-Shabaab, was also banned.
The council believes that activities related to terrorist groups and al-Shabaab continue to destabilize Somalia, and called on the federal government to intensify the fight against these groups, in order to weaken their power.
