UN extends arms embargo mandate in Somalia, Eritrea

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday in favor of extending the mandate of its Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea for another year, which is tasked with monitoring an arms embargo on those countries.

Security Council Resolution 2002 approved the extension of the group's mandate, condemning "flows of weapons and ammunition supplies to and through Somalia and Eritrea in violation of the Somalia arms embargo and the Eritrea arms embargo", and calling the violations a "serious threat towards peace and stability in the region".

The current mandate of the group was set to expire on July 31, 2011.

The resolution further requested the UN secretary-general to take necessary administrative measures to re-establish the group consisting of eight experts to fulfill its mandate.

The arms embargo was first placed on Somalia by the council in 1992, after the country's government collapsed and civil war broke out. An arms embargo was placed on Eritrea in 2009 after it was found to have been helping to arm Somali rebel groups and refused to withdraw its troops from its contested border with Djibouti.

The Monitoring Group is charged with overseeing the sanctions and investigating any violations.

Resolution 2002 reaffirmed "the importance of enhancing the monitoring of the Somalia and Eritrea arms embargoes through persistent and vigilant investigation into the violations, bearing in mind that strict enforcement of the arms embargoes will improve the overall security situation in the region".