Annan appoints arms-embargo monitors

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a four-man panel of experts to monitor violations of the arms embargo against Somalia over the coming six months. The four, who will be based the in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, are Melvin E. Holt of the United States, Li Changseng of China, John Tambi of Sierra Leone and Joel Salek of Colombia, according to Annan's letter to the Security Council made public today. The Security Council imposed the embargo on Somalia in 1992 at the onset of the civil war. A four-member panel of experts to investigate violations of the embargo was then appointed by Annan in September 2002. Meanwhile, in the Lower Juba Region of southern Somalia, a UN staff member was abducted early on Friday, according to the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. "The UN is in communication with the de facto authorities in the region that are taking steps to secure the release of the staff member," the Office said, without naming the victim. Sources in Kismayo, the regional capital, told IRIN that the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), which controls the area, had set up roadblocks "to limit the abductors' ability to move around". "They [the JVA] are very embarrassed by this and they want to effect the release of the UN staff member as quickly as possible," said one of the sources.