UN to check E Africa for arms

2003-10-01 09:25

New York - A United Nations security council mission will visit Somalia and nearby nations in October to review the implementation of an arms embargo the council imposed on the country in 1992, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The mission, which will be led by Bulgaria's UN Ambassador Stefan Tafrov and include experts from security council member nations, will be in the region from October 12-25, Fred Eckhard said at a news briefing.

The mission comes after some security council members expressed concerns about possible violations of the embargo, the council said in a statement.

Terrorist transit point

In a UN report on Somalia released earlier this year, a panel of independent experts said the lawless nation had served as a transit point for international terrorists to get themselves and their weapons across borders.

Mission delegates will "emphasise the importance of the compliance with the arms embargo for the success of the Somali peace and reconciliation process," the statement said.

The delegation will visit Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen, Eckhard said.

The security council imposed the embargo after opposition leaders united to oust dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Somalia has been without an effective government since then. A transitional government chosen at a peace conference in Djibouti in August 2000 has little influence outside the capital, Mogadishu, and faces opposition from a number of faction leaders.

- AP