Small arms threaten Africa

2005-07-14 11:22

Accra - Ridding Africa of small arms is one of the most important challenges facing the continent as it girds for battle against attacks such as the bombings last week in London, Interpol president Jackie Selebi said on Wednesday.

"The most serious threat in Africa is the proliferation of small arms," he said at the opening ceremony of Interpol's 18th Africa Regional Conference in Accra.

It is incumbent on national defence and security forces, in conjunction with global bodies such as Interpol to "protect our people from this threat", he added.

"We must look at issues of terrorism in their totality to do everything in our power to make our communities safer."

Experts put the number of small arms and light weapons in circulation worldwide at over 600 million, causing an estimated 80 000 and 100 000 conflict-related deaths in 2003, according to a report released on Monday by the small arms survey.

Weapons stashed across Africa

Many of these weapons are stashed in countries such as Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), remnants from the civil wars that have raged in these countries for years.

"This is a crisis of instability, occasioned by the deliberate export of political conflict associated with gun-running across borders of hitherto peaceful countries," Ghanaian vice-president Alhaji Aliu Mahama told the Accra conference.

The three-day conference was also to focus on improving co-operation between police information on the continent, crucial in light of the mounting potential for remote parts of Africa to become safe havens for international terrorist groups.

Interpol officials said it was a priority for the worldwide police force to ensure its African members are connected to a sophisticated communications system able to transmit criminal data globally.

"Nowhere is our vision of structured police co-operation at the regional and global level better exemplified than in Africa," Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble told the audience representing 41 African countries.

"African police chiefs know that to fight international crime they need to extend their reach across international borders."

- AFP