U.S. urges lifting of U.N. arms embargo on Somalia - envoys

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is urging fellow members of the U.N. Security Council to agree to demands by the government in Mogadishu to lift the arms embargo on Somalia, which has been in place for the past 21 years, U.N. diplomats said on Tuesday.

The U.S. push comes after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week that the 15-nation council should consider lifting the arms embargo to help rebuild Somalia's security forces and consolidate military gains against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants.