From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Nov 19 2009 - 14:22:37 EST
Move at UN to sanction Eritrea over Somalia links
19 Nov 2009 18:52:21 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Steps include arms embargo, asset freezes, travel bans
* Russia, China will have problems with draft - diplomats
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A draft U.N. Security Council resolution
calls for an arms embargo against Eritrea and travel bans and asset freezes
for members of its government and military for aiding Islamist insurgents in
Somalia.
The resolution, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, was drafted by temporary
Security Council member Uganda and has been circulated to other members of
the 15-nation panel, U.N. diplomats said.
The United States and other council members accuse Eritrea of supplying al
Shabaab rebels with money and weapons as they fight to topple the fragile
U.N.-backed transitional government of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed,
the official leader of the virtually lawless Horn of Africa nation.
The fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start
of 2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes.
Among the measures called for in the draft is a ban on all sales to Asmara
of "weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary
equipment, and spare parts."
The draft also calls for a ban on providing Eritrea with "technical
assistance, training, financial and other assistance, related to the
military activities."
The Security Council, African Union (AU) and United States have all warned
Asmara against destabilizing Somalia. Eritrea denies supporting al Shabaab
and has said that the threat of U.N. sanctions is of "no concern at all."
A U.N. arms monitoring body -- which was set up to record violations of a
1992 arms embargo on Somalia -- has said Asmara was sending plane- and
boatloads of munitions to Somali rebels, as well as providing them with
logistical support.
It was not clear when the council would vote on the resolution. Diplomats
said it would need to be revised if it was to avoid a veto from China and
Russia, which dislike sanctions in general.
The resolution would authorize U.N. member states to inspect "all cargo to
and from Somalia and Eritrea" via land and sea if there were grounds to
suspect that the cargo included banned items.
It would also impose a travel ban and freeze the assets of the "Eritrean
political and military leadership" and other Eritrean individuals and firms
suspected of supporting the hard-line Islamist rebels.
Somalia has been mired in chaos for nearly two decades and there is little
sign the latest attempt to establish central government is proving any more
successful than the 14 previous efforts since a dictator was ousted in 1991.
(Editing by David Storey)
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