The UN asks the countries of the Sahel to strengthen the fight against arms trafficking in the face of the upsurge in violence

UNDOC stresses that "the longer insecurity continues in the region, the more likely it is that people will resort to arms"

MADRID, 19 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United Nations has called on the countries of the Sahel to increase their efforts to combat arms trafficking in the region and has warned that this phenomenon is fueling the cycle of violence and displacement that has shaken this part of the African continent for years.

"Despite the fact that more than 9,300 people died in violent incidents in Sahel countries in 2022, the main source of violent incidents is not related to clashes between armed groups and pro-government forces," the United Nations Office Against Drugs and Crime (UNDOC).

Thus, he has pointed to "mutually reinforcing factors" that "have contributed to the growth of insurgency and banditry," including "inter-community tensions, violence between farmers and ranchers, violent religious extremism, and competition over scarce resources such as water and arable land.

"All the groups involved need firearms and ammunition and, while their number is multiplying, so are the business opportunities for arms traffickers in the countries of the Sahel," he said, before stressing that "although there is evidence on long-range arms trafficking to the Sahel, including by air from France and Turkey via Nigeria, it appears that the vast majority of arms trafficked in the region are sourced from Africa."

In this sense, it has specifically pointed to Libya as a source since 2019 of "recently manufactured weapons" and has stressed that "the evidence shows that the diversion of weapons from the national Armed Forces, either through their capture in the field of battle, the robbery in armories or the purchase from corrupt elements within the armies, is the main source of firearms in the countries of the Sahel".

"In addition to remaining in the region, arms trafficked in the Sahel also find their way to coastal countries in West Africa and have been used in terrorist attacks in the Gulf of Guinea," he warned, while recalling that some states of the region "have armed militias or other non-state actors" to defend themselves against extremist groups. "Some of these weapons are even more susceptible to diversion than those entrusted to national security structures," she warned.

The UNDOC has specified that "despite the fact that there are numerous sources of home-made weapons, the main market for artisan weapons made in West and Central Africa implies that there are limits to the supply", before explaining that "while violent extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State are more likely to resort to industrially manufactured weapons, non-state armed groups such as traditional hunting groups and community militias may prefer handcrafted weapons because they are cheaper."

"Many of the areas known as hubs for arms trafficking are areas with little state presence located near borders or on transportation routes where multiple criminal activities take place," he said, before adding that "it appears that weapons are traded opportunistically, depending on changes in supply and demand."

"Given that the supply chains and traffickers are many and varied, it appears that the number of individuals who are primarily engaged in large-scale arms trafficking in the Sahel is limited," the agency said, noting that "for To increase their profits, traders moving goods from one country to another may choose to move weapons along with other cargo."

On the other hand, he has indicated that "ethnic connections can be important facilitators of arms trafficking across national borders in the Sahel" and has stressed that "many of the conflicts in the region have an ethnic dimension, as do the criminal groups, who may prefer to sell or transfer weapons to members of their ethnic group in other countries.

In this way, he has stressed that "violent extremist groups are not predominantly involved in arms trafficking in the Sahel", although "they may have a seller and client relationship with the communities and other armed groups with which they interact , receiving only indirect financial benefit from usage, rather than traffic."

"Militia control of transport routes is key to the success of arms trafficking in the Sahel. The limited number of routes crossing the Sahara desert indicates that groups in a position to tax and control trans-Saharan trade may obtain funds to buy firearms and protect their assets," he argued.

For this reason, the UNDOC has stated in its report that "the longer insecurity continues in the region, the more likely it will be that people will resort to arms." "From the perspective of the victims of violence, it matters little whether the motivation is criminal or political," he stressed.

The agency has also pointed to the importance of the fall of the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi in precipitating the Tuareg uprising in Mali, which triggered a coup in 2012 that was used by jihadist groups.

"It's only part of the story, however. Around this time, the violent extremist group Boko Haram independently expanded its area of ​​operations from northeastern Nigeria to include parts of Cameroon, Chad and Niger," has pointed.

Despite this, he stressed that the main sources of weapons are Libya, the weapons diverted from national armies in the region, the weapons that still exist in the area as a result of previous conflicts, the transfer of weapons from security forces to non-state actors and the aforementioned craft production.

In addition, he has affirmed that one of the vectors that facilitates arms trafficking is the fact that "the countries of the Sahel have serious deficits in the capacity to apply the law, which means that they can only arrest, convict and imprison a small number of criminals, relative to their populations".

"For example, the latest data suggests that Mali is holding close to 3,000 prisoners in its overcrowded jails, even though the country has suffered more than 1,000 deaths a year associated with non-state armed groups in recent years. The result is that militiamen and criminals act with a high degree of impunity, which fuels friction between communities and allows the trafficking of firearms," ​​he argued.

For this reason, the UNDOC has stressed that "the countries of the Sahel should strengthen their efforts to collect data on firearms trafficking to improve understanding and stop national and transnational arms flows."

"Countries must redouble their efforts to prevent, detect, intercept and track illicit arms flows, especially at borders," he said, before calling for "strengthening investigations focused on arms trafficking."

In this line, it has opted for "greater international cooperation at the level of security and judicial agencies to guarantee adequate investigations", as well as "addressing the diversion of weapons in national arsenals, including an analysis of the reasons".

"National databases are not a silver bullet to solve the problem of arms trafficking, but they can help address issues related to data collection, tracing, investigations and avoiding diversions," he said, before asking for a "better regulation" of handcrafted weapons.