UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The Security Council called for the creation of a monitoring group to investigate violations of the UN arms embargo against Somalia and make recommendations to strengthen it.
A resolution adopted unanimously by the council Tuesday asks Secretary-General Kofi Annan to establish the four-member group for six months to carry out investigations in Somalia and neighbouring states and prepare a list of those who continue to violate the embargo.
It said those on the list, and their active supporters, could face "possible future measures by the council."
The United Nations imposed an arms embargo against Somalia in 1992, a year after the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The Horn of Africa nation has not had an effective government since then.
The council authorised the new monitoring group, which will be based in Nairobi, to focus on transfers of ammunition, single-use weapons and small arms.
A report to the council last month by a previous panel of experts appointed by Annan said there was a continuous influx of small quantities of arms and ammunition into Somalia that feeds the local arms markets and provides weapons for the country's warlords.