Giant step for Somalia with UN Security Council seat

Somalia has been elected to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, a position it last held in the 1970s.

The election is seen as a significant step for the war-torn nation. Somalia received 179 votes in the General Assembly, winning the seat allocated to the East Africa region unopposed.

The country's foreign minister says Somalia is ready to play a vital role in promoting peace and security globally.

The Security Council has 10 non-permanent members, and Somalia's experience battling turmoil and Islamist militants will inform the UN's decisions.