UNSC keeps arms embargo on Somalia, lifts sanctions on Eritrea

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to lift sanctions against Eritrea following its thaw in relations with Ethiopia and other neighboring countries. Ethiopia’s UN ambassador and other council members spoke immediately after Wednesday’s vote and welcomed the positive developments in the Horn of Africa. The Security Council imposed an arms embargo and other tough sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for supplying weapons to Al-Shabab Islamic militants opposed to the Somali government and for refusing to resolve a border dispute with neighboring Djibouti, a key US ally in the Horn of Africa. The border dispute has not yet been resolved. The resolution also extends the arms embargo on Somalia and a ban on trade in Somali charcoal.