This Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey maps cross-border arms trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel through case studies on Niger, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and the two tri-border areas of Burkina Faso–Côte d’Ivoire–Mali, and Ghana–Côte d’Ivoire–Burkina Faso.

The study reveals that highly organized trafficking networks move sizable arms quantities across large areas of land north of the Niger River. Arms trafficking south of the river is more characterized by lower-level arms flows and local intermediaries engaging in so-called ‘ant trade’.

The diversion of conventional arms from licit to illicit entities can occur at any stage of the arms transfer chain. Preventing diversion therefore requires varied measures that effectively tackle the issue along the chain.

In the first-ever continental analysis of illicit arms flows in Africa, the African Union Commission and the Small Arms Survey identify the scale, availability, characteristics, and supply patterns of illicit small arms in Africa. 

Southern Libya after the fall of Qaddafi has become synonymous with lawlessness. For centuries, the area has been home to a shifting sea of ethnic groups who see the border as an imposition but not a barrier. The Tubu (or Teda) are one such group, whose presence stretches across southern Libya, Chad, and Niger. 

The Briefing Paper from the Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project examines the capacities of different actors to monitor illicit arms flows in the Sahel region. Monitoring illicit arms flows is critical to measuring states’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—especially Target 16.4, which calls for a significant reduction of illicit arms flows by 2030.

Le monitoring des armes au Sahel: les institutions forensiques nationales, une Note d'information du projet Évaluation de la sécurité en Afrique du Nord (SANA), analyse les capacités et les pratiques des institutions forensiques de trois États du Sahel francophone – la Mauritanie, le Niger et le Tchad – qui comptent, parmi leur personnel, des experts particulièrement compétents sur la question des armes à feu et des munitions à l’échelle locale.

Criminals purchase weapons unable to fire live ammunition legally and at low costs across Europe, converting them into lethal firearms with little to no training or expertise. The Small Arms Survey report From Legal to Lethal: Converted Firearms in Europe provides a detailed examination on the topic.
 

This Report from the Small Arms Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project examines insecurity, terrorism, and trafficking in Niger.The Sahel hosts multiple conflicts with myriad armed actors destabilizing the entire region. Positioned at the heart of this region, Niger sits at the crossroads of terrorism, trafficking, and conflict.  

In April 2014, someone discovered a ‘gift from God’ in northern Niger: large quantities of gold, easily accessible using basic equipment. The gold rush began, and with it came a transformation of the security, political, and socio-economic dynamics in this vast and sensitive region. The population suddenly increased fifty-fold, and the number of vehicles circulating in the region grew even more than that.

Available in:  ARABIC | ENGLISH

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