World Bulletin / News Desk

Somalia has appealed to the United Nations and the United States to lift the arms embargo they imposed during the civil war.

Anadolu Agency caught up with Somalian Ambassador to Ethiopia Mohamed Ali-Nur Hagi on the sidelines of an African Union meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) in preparation for the 30th Assembly of heads of state and government slated for Sunday.

The ambassador said the embargo had outlived its purpose.

The UN Security Council first imposed an arms embargo on Somalia in January 1992.

Although it has been relaxed in subsequent years, the embargo is still in effect. In 2014, the Security Council reaffirmed the overall arms embargo on Somalia.

“Our appeals for the lifting of the arms embargo are well justified due to the fact that Somalis are no longer fighting a clan-based civil war, which had lent a reason for the U.S. and U.N. to impose the embargo,” the ambassador said.

“So long as there is a national government that is committed to the country and to the international protocols and agreements, I think there is no reason Somalia is still kept under the embargo,” he said.