France calls for mulling end to UN Somalia arms ban
Source: Reuters
By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - France said on Friday that lifting a U.N. arms embargo on Somalia should be considered to avoid an imbalance in weaponry between the government and Islamists, according to an EU diplomat. The 1992 U.N. weapons ban -- the world's most widely ignored -- prevents Somali authorities from legally acquiring weapons in a country awash with them. In endorsing African peacekeepers for Somalia in December, the U.N. Security Council also formally eased the arms ban to enable peacekeepers to legally bring in arms, and train and equip government forces. France made its proposal at a meeting of EU ambassadors looking at ways to bring stability to Somalia after Ethiopian troops helped drive out a Mogadishu-based Islamist movement, the EU diplomat said. "France said we should avoid having an imbalance between weapons that could be made available for the Islamists and the embargo on the federal government side," the diplomat said. "At some point we should think about getting rid of this embargo." The EU's executive Commission told the meeting 36 million euros ($47 million) of extra aid could be made available to Somalia, including to assist demobilisation and security reform, on top of 15 million euros set aside to help finance an African peacekeeping force. However, the EU wanted to see the government broaden its public support and establish a political process that included moderate Islamists and women, a Commission spokeswoman said. The EU, the world's biggest aid donor, has provided 300 million euros for Somalia since 2001. Meeting in Nairobi on Friday, Western and African diplomats of the International Contact Group on Somalia called for the urgent dispatch of peacekeepers to stabilise the country amid fresh concerns over Islamist threats to carry on fighting.
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