'The League of Arab States (LAS), INTERPOL, the Small Arms Survey, and the World Customs Organization (WCO) — supported by the EU — are working together on a joint project to combat the illicit trade in, and proliferation of, small arms and light weapons in LAS Member States.

'On my visit to Libya’s war-torn capital in mid-June, a Libyan friend I’ll call Mohamed* helped arrange a meeting with two commanders in the Mahjub Brigade — one of the largest armed groups of Misrata, a port city 200km east of the capital. Mohamed was a fighter in the brigade and went along to the meeting, at the group’s rear base near the frontline, not far from the Tripoli International Airport.

'Following the fall of Qaddafi, instability continues to persist in Libya. Numerous analyses have been published on the ever-changing dynamics on the ground (a few from the Small Arms Survey include papers on armed groups in Tripoli; struggles at Libya’s borders; and how neighbouring countries have manoeuvred the ongoing crisis), but few exist on the role that women played, and continue to play...'

'Many smugglers think of themselves as transporters, not criminals.[i] For, they argue, isn’t the smuggling of petrol, cigarettes and other goods across largely uncontrolled borders simply a way of making a living? And in terms of moving people, can people who smuggle migrants across borders be seen rather as service providers such as bus companies — as some suggest — rather than as smugglers?

'On 14 March 2018, Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were shot dead in an execution-style killing. Franco was a well-known human rights advocate whose personal background reflected the groups she fought for: a black lesbian woman raised in poverty in one the city’s most notorious favelas (slums), Maré. Her assassination made news across the world and led to major local protests.

'Cities continue to increase in importance, acting as magnets for migration, innovation, and economic concentration. In 2015, almost four billion people lived in cities, a number that’s expected to increase to five billion by 2030. The UN has noted that challenges for growing cities include growing slums, increased air pollution, and heightened risks of disasters for the population. But what about violence? City dwellers are often perceived as being at more risk of violence than those in rural areas, but this is not always the case...'

More than four years after the start of the Syrian uprising, over a thousand armed groups are involved in fighting that has consumed the country. The groups range in size from small local units of a few hundred fighters to large movements with an international reach, and range along the political spectrum from secular groups to extremist groups with a transnational outlook.

A new online Dispatch, Foreign Jihadism in Syria: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, by the Survey's Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project, offers a snapshot of foreign fighters in Syria at the end of 2013. Focusing on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the report examines the organization’s strengths, its weaknesses, and its operational impact.

A multitude of armed groups and smuggling networks with transnational reach are driving southern Libya’s integration into the Sahel–Sahara region.