UN imposes arm embargo on Eritrea for support to Somali insurgents

December 23, 2009 (UNITED NATIONS) — The United Nations Security Council imposed today an arm embargo on Eritrea for aid provided to Somali Islamist rebels.

The Security Council in a resolution backed by 13 from the 15 members passed an an arms embargo and asset freezes and travel bans on Eritrea and individuals and firms to be designated by an existing sanctions committee including leading political and military officials.

Besides, the support to Somali insurgents, the Council mentioned Asmara refusal to withdraw troops from the disputed border area with Djibouti.

Libya, the current African Union chair and one of the African members at the Security Council voted against the resolution while China which has a veto in the Council abstained.

Uganda, which has peacekeeping troops in Somalia that have been targeted by Al-Shebab, drafted the resolution after the African Union called on the council in May to punish Eritrea over its role in Somalia.

The vote in the 15-member body was 13 in favor, with veto-wielding China abstaining and Libya, the lone Arab council member and the current African Union chair, casting a “no” vote.

The resolution demands that Asmara “cease all efforts to destabilize or overthrow, directly or indirectly” the Somali transitional government.

It urges member states to conduct inspections on their territory, including seaports and airports, of “all cargo to and from Somalia and Eritrea” if there is reasonable grounds to believe the shipments contain banned weapons or related material.

It further presses Eritrea to withdraw troops immediately from disputed territories along its frontier with Djibouti, and engage in diplomatic efforts leading to “a mutually acceptable” settlement of their long-running border dispute.

Eritrean ambassador at the United Nations, Araya Desta, rejected the resolution and slammed what he called a “shameful resolution based on fabricated lies mainly concocted by the Ethiopian regime and the US administration.”

Both the African Union and the east African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc — which groups Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda — have been calling since July for UN sanctions to punish Eritrea for backing Somali rebels.

(ST)