In 1992, they stopped sending weapons to Somalia to stop warlords from getting more.
Now, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is voting this Friday to lift the ban after 30 years.
The embargo was enforced in 1992 to prevent weapons from reaching warring leaders who caused a civil war by removing dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in the Horn of Africa.
The 15-member group is set to pass two resolutions this Friday, as diplomats reveal – one to end the arms embargo on Somalia and another to put the embargo back on the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group.
One resolution clarifies that there’s no ban on sending weapons to the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
It also expresses worry about the lack of safe storage for ammunition in Somalia and urges the construction of secure depots across the country, asking other nations to help.
Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaeda, has been fighting against the Somali government since 2006, aiming to establish its rule based on strict Islamic Sharia law.
Somalia’s government has long wanted the arms embargo lifted to strengthen its forces against militants. The UNSC began easing restrictions on Somalia’s security forces in 2013.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently stated that Somalia has a year to remove al-Shabab, as the deadline for African Union peacekeepers to leave is approaching next December. This news is credited to Al Jazeera as the source.