In September 2009, in reaction to the killing of over 150 demonstrators in Guinea on 28 September by the Guinean military, an arms embargo was imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Guinea is a member. ECOWAS stated in a press release that it had decided to 'impose an arms embargo on Guinea under the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons.'
In March 2011 ECOWAS announced in a further press release that in view of the restoration of democracy it had lifted its sanctions imposed on Guinea, including the arms embargo.