The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Eritrea because of aid it says it has been giving to Islamist insurgents¹ in Somalia.

联合国安理会对厄立特里亚实施制裁，因其向索马里伊斯兰教叛乱分子提供援助。

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Eritrea denies funding the insurgency in Somalia

The resolution places an arms embargo武器禁运 on Eritrea, and also imposes travel bans and asset freezes on businesses and individuals.

Members of the Eritrean leadership are expected to be affected⁴. The resolution was backed by 13 votes to 15.

China abstained⁵放弃，避免 while Libya, the only Arab council member, voted against.

Eritrean officials have repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them a "fabrication伪造，制造" of US intelligence.

'Ludicrous'

The country suspended its membership of the African Union in protest at the call for sanctions in April.

A draft of the resolution obtained by Reuters news agency demands that Eritrea "cease arming, training and equipping armed groups and their members including al-Shabab".

As a result of the Security Council vote, Eritrea becomes the first new country to be subjected to UN sanctions since they were imposed on Iran in 2006.

In a letter to the council last week, Eritrea's ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, called the sanctions "ludicrous滑稽的，荒唐的 punitive⁶ measures惩罚措施".

He warned that their imposition risked "engulfing吞没，吞食 the region in to another cycle of conflict as it may encourage Ethiopia to contemplate⁸沉思，思忖 reckless鲁莽的 military adventures".

The UN has frequently expressed concern about the flow of arms in to Somalia, where hardline Islamists of al-Shabab and Hizbul-Islam are battling with government forces for control of the capital Mogadishu.

Somalia has been subject to a UN arms embargo³ for many years, but weapons are still freely available in the Mogadishu weapons market.