UNSC expected to lift Eritrea sanctions in Wednesday vote

AFP on Wednesday cited “diplomats” as saying that the UNSC was expected to vote unanimously in favor of a British-drafted resolution that would lift sanctions on Eritrea on the same day.

Eritrea has been under UNSC sanctions — including an arms embargo, travel bans, and asset freezes — since 2009.

The sanctions were imposed over the accusation that the Eritrean government supported al-Shabab militants in Somalia.

Asmara has long rejected the accusation.

Eritrea and Ethiopia had severed their relations following a border dispute that claimed nearly 80,000 lives in the late 1990s.

But in July, the two countries unexpectedly agreed to resume their diplomatic and commercial relations and end hostilities.

The two African neighbors declared an end to their state of war and agreed to open embassies, develop ports, and resume flights between the two countries.

Efforts to remove the UNSC sanctions began after that rapprochement.

Eritrea is still engaged in a border dispute with another Horn of Africa country, Djibouti, where the United States, China, and France have military bases.

France has requested that the UNSC hear a report every six months on Eritrea’s efforts to normalize relations with Djibouti.