UN lifts arms embargo on Somalia, squeezes Al Shabaab

Al Shabaab

Somalia troops line up in a convoy on the road in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia in 2014. PHOTO | AFP

Photo credit: AFP

The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Friday voted to lift an arms embargo on Somalia government forces, ending 31 years of restrictions that had prevented the country from upgrading its military with freely purchased new weaponry.

In a decision, the council sitting in New York voted 14-1 to lift the embargo on Somalia, but retained restrictions on arms trade or supplies to members of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. France abstained.