Ethiopia backs Somalia's quest to lift UN arms embargo

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopia has endorsed the push by neighboring Somalia to have the arms embargo lifted by the United Nations Security Council, joining Uganda which has been standing with the administration in Mogadishu for a while now.

For years, the United Nations Security Council has stood its ground, maintaining that Somalia should continue being monitored on arms purchasing due to Al-Shabaab's menace. The Al-Qaeda-linked group has been antagonizing innocent civilians in the country.

Next month, the United Nations Security Council [UNSC] is set to vote on an extension of the partial ban imposed on Somalia in purchasing weapons. This comes at the time the Horn of Africa nation is upscaling the fight against Al-Shabaab.

A number of local militia have been joining the Somali National Army, the US Africa Command, and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] in the fight against the militants. It's not clear whether the government is dispatching weapons to the local militia.

Somalia called on African Union member states in July to support its campaign to lift the embargo, which includes bans on high-caliber weapons and military vehicles, state media reports. Uganda is pushing for the lifting of the arms embargo, and Ethiopia's entry could be a huge relief for Somalia.

United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Somalia in 1992 just after the worst civil war, only to lift it partially a decade ago. This, it argues, was meant to help the national army stabilize and intensify the fight against Al-Shabaab militants.

The remaining sanctions, which require requests for certain weapons to be approved, are renewed annually and Federal Government seeking to terminate this restriction. Ethiopia is similarly facing internal conflicts within the Tigray region where thousands of people have died.

GAROWE ONLINE