President of the federal government H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has asked the Council to lift the United Nations complete lift of the arms embargo on Somalia since 1990s.
Mr Mohamud said the lifting of the arms embargo would help speed up the development of national security forces while enhancing Somalia’s ability to defeat Al shabaab, protect its people and safeguard its future.
He urged greater support for building up the country’s military, saying the lifting of the U.N. arms embargo on weapons for government troops would make “the most rapid and greatest impact to the development of Somalia’s own forces.”
Michael Keating, the U.N. envoy for Somalia, told the council that “the breakthrough on the electoral process is generating broader momentum,” pointing to a review of the provisional constitution and a discussion scheduled next month on “politically contentious issues.”
Keating cautioned, however, that progress is taking place “amid great insecurity,” calling Al-Shabab “a potent threat.”
Although the rebel group, which has ties to al-Qaida, has faced significant casualties, he said it continues to carry out attacks and warned that it “will try to disrupt an electoral process that they see rightly as threatening their agenda.”
