Our website use cookies to improve and personalize your experience and to display advertisements (if any). Our website may also include cookies from third parties like Google Adsense, Google Analytics, and Youtube. By using the website, you consent to the use of cookies.

U.N. arms embargo on CAR extended for year, China abstains

U.N. arms embargo on CAR extended for year, China abstains

MICHELLE NICHOLS  THE United Nations Security Council has extended a Central African Republic (CAR) arms embargo and targeted sanctions regime for another year, however, China abstained in the vote because it believes the measures should be removed. The 15-member Security Council imposed the arms embargo on CAR in December 2013 when mainly Muslim Selaka rebels ousted then-president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A targeted sanctions regime was agreed upon in 2014 when U.N. peacekeepers were also deployed to the country. The gold and diamond-rich country of 4.7 million people have since been mired in violence. "There appears…
Read More
Egypt’s Sisi wins parliamentary approval for possible Libya intervention

Egypt’s Sisi wins parliamentary approval for possible Libya intervention

MAHMOUD MOURAD and NADINE AWADALLA EGYPT'S parliament gave President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi the green light for possible military intervention in Libya by approving the deployment of armed forces abroad to fight "terrorist groups" and "militias". A sharp military escalation in Libya, where fighters led by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar have been battling the forces of the internationally recognised government, could risk igniting a direct conflict among the foreign powers that have poured in weapons and fighters in violation of an arms embargo. Khalifa Haftar Sisi warned last week that Egypt would not stand idle if there was a threat to national…
Read More
France, Germany, Italy threaten sanctions over arms for Libya

France, Germany, Italy threaten sanctions over arms for Libya

THE leaders of France, Germany and Italy on Saturday threatened for the first time to use sanctions against countries that continued to violate a United Nations arms embargo on Libya. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged "all foreign actors to end their increasing interference and to fully respect the arms embargo established by the United Nations Security Council" in a joint statement issued by the French presidency after meeting in Brussels. "We are ready to consider the possible use of sanctions if the breaches of the embargo at sea, on land…
Read More