Plan floated at UN to lift Somalia arms embargo for 1 year
A proposal to lift a UN arms embargo on the Somalian government for a year but leave in place restrictions on weapons like surface-to-air missiles has been floated among a deeply split 15-member UN Security Council, diplomats said on Wednesday.
The Somali government has requested that the 21-year-old arms embargo be lifted so it can strengthen its poorly equipped, ill-disciplined military - more a group of rival militias than a cohesive fighting force loyal to a single president - to battle al Qaeda-affiliated Islamist rebels. (Reuters)
