Mapping of Conflicts and Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferations in Africa

Abstract

This study examined conflicts and small arms and light weapons proliferation in Africa with the main objective of raising the awareness of these problems and ultimately alerting the countries in Africa to the challenges of small arms and to initiate programs to tackle it. The study utilized secondary data in a Geographic Information System techniques environment for data collation, processing, analysis and presentation which employed maps for graphical illustrations. The study revealed that Africa has been a continent rife with conflicts, from the years of colonization, right through to post-independence. The conflicts are in various forms, have lasted for different durations, with politics, ethnicity and religion as the major drivers, and with vested interests mostly by individual and groups resulting to different patterns and trends across Africa. These crises which are often prolonged have resulted to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. These arms are imported or produced in Africa. The problem is exacerbated by very porous borders across all the countries, gang violent, the portability of the weapons, and low cost of purchase. This has resulted in the wide spread of these weapons, leading to the destabilization of several countries, and causing death, poverty, economic exploitation, famine and environmental degradation. Ending conflicts in Africa will of course address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons considerably. It will however, require an integrated approach that will involve nations, regional groups and the continental body as a whole. It will also entail cooperation of international organization since most of the arms and weapons are imported. Devising new approaches to conflict resolution without necessarily resorting to violence and the use of small arms and light weapons is also necessary.

Appendix 1: Dynamics of conflicts and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Africa

S/No	Sub-region	Country	Conflicts
			Types	Duration of last conflict (Years)	Actors	Ownership	Past conflicts
1	North Africa	Algeria
2		Egypt	Internal	7	Religious/political	Group	Political uprising
3		Libya	Internal/external	7	Religious	Group/Individual	Political uprising
4		Morocco	Internal	3	Political	Individual	Political
5		Sudan	Internal	15	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
6		Tunisia	Internal	7	Religious	Group/Individual	Political uprising
7		Western Sahara	External	25	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
8	Western Africa	Benin	Internal	–	Business people	Individual	Crime
9		Burkina Faso	Internal	15	Religious/Political	Group/Individual	Political
10		Cape Verde	–	–	–	–	–
11		Cote d’Ivoire	Internal	10	Ethnic	Individual	Political uprising
12		Gambia	Internal	2	Ethnic	Individual	Political uprising
13		Ghana	–	–	Criminals	Individual	Crime
14		Guinea	Internal/external	15	Political/Crime	Group/Individual	Political uprising
15		Guinea-Bissau	Internal/external	15	Political/Crime	Group/Individual	Political uprising
16		Liberia	Internal	13	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
17		Mali	Internal	10	Religious	Group/Individual	Political uprising
18		Mauritania	Internal	15	Criminals	Individual	Crime
19		Niger	Internal	10	Religious	Group/Individual	Political/Religious Uprising
20		Nigeria	Internal	10	Religious/Ethnic	Groups/Individual	Civil war
21		Senegal	Internal	15	Political	Individual	Political
22		Sierra Leone	Internal	5	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
23		Togo	Internal	10	Political	Individual	Political
24	Eastern Africa	Burundi	Internal/External	5	Ethnic	Individual	Political uprising
25		Comoros	–	–	–	–	–
26		Djibouti	Internal/External	5	Religious	Group/individual	Political uprising
27		Eritrea	Internal/External	15	Religious	Group/individual	Political uprising
28		Ethiopia	Internal/External	10	Religious/Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political/Religious uprising
29		Kenya	Internal/External	15	Religious	Group/Individual	Political/Religious uprising
30		Madagascar	Internal/External	15	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
31		Malawi	Internal/External	10	Ethnic	Individual	Political uprising
32		Mauritius	Internal	5	Criminal	Group/Individual	Political uprising
33		Mayotte	–	–	–	–	–
34		Mozambique	Internal	15	Ethnic	Group/individual	Political uprising
35		Reunion	–	–	–	–	–
36		Rwanda	Internal/External	10	Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
37		Seychelles	–	–	–	–	–
38		Somalia	Internal/External	25	Religious/Clan/Political	Group/individual	Political/Religious uprising
39		South Sudan	Internal	5	Political/Religious/Ethnic	Group/Individual	Civil war
40		Tanzania	Internal/External	15	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
41		Uganda	Internal	25	Religious	Group/Individual	Political uprising
42		Zambia	Internal	15	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
43		Zimbabwe	Internal	15	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
44	Central Africa	Angola	Internal/External	20	Political	Group/individual	Political uprising
45		Cameroon	Internal	10	Religious/Ethnic	Group/Individual	Political uprising
46		Central Africa Republic	Internal	5	Ethnic/Religious	Group/individual	Political uprising
47		Chad	Internal/External	25	Religious	Group/Individual	Political uprising
48		Congo	Internal/External	15	Political	Group/individual	Political uprising
49		Congo Democratic Republic	Internal/External	25	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
50		Equatorial Guinea	Internal	10	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
51		Gabon	Internal	15	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
52		Sao Tome and Principe	–	–	–	–	–
53	Southern Africa	Botswana	Internal	15	Political	Groups/Individual	Political uprising
54		Lesotho	Internal	–	Political	Groups/Individual	Political uprising
55		Namibia	Internal	20	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
56		South Africa	Internal	60	Political	Group/Individual	Political uprising
57		Swaziland	–	–	–	–	–
Total	5	57

S/No	Sub-region	Country	Weapons
			Types—Small arms or light weapons	Purpose of acquisition	Sources—Foreign or local	Areas
						cleared	Destabilized
1	North Africa	Algeria	Both	Civil unrest	Both	No	Yes
2		Egypt	Both	Civil unrest	Both	No	Yes
3		Libya	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Yes
4		Morocco	Both	Civil Unrest	Both	No	No
5		Sudan	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	No
6		Tunisia	Both	Civil unrest	Both	No	Yes
7		Western Sahara	Both	Civil unrest	Both	No	No
8	Western Africa	Benin	Small Arms	Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	No
9		Burkina Faso	Small arms	Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	Partly
10		Cape Verde	–	–	–	–	–
11		Cote d’Ivoire	Small arms	Civil unrest	Both	No	Partly
12		Gambia	Small arms	Civil unrest	Both	No	No
13		Ghana	Small arms	Business/Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	No
14		Guinea	Both	Civil Unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	Partly
15		Guinea-Bissau	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	Partly
16		Liberia	Small Arms	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
17		Mali	Both	Civil unrest	Both	No	Yes
18		Mauritania	Small Arms	Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
19		Niger	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
20		Nigeria	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
21		Senegal	Small arms	Civil unrest	Both	No	No
22		Sierra Leone	Small Arms	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	No
23		Togo	Small arms	Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	No
24	Eastern Africa	Burundi	Small arms	Civil unrest/Banditry	Both	No	Yes
25		Comoros	–		–	–	–
26		Djibouti	Both	Civil unrest/Banditry	Foreign	No	Yes
27		Eritrea	Both	Civil unrest/Banditry	Foreign	No	Yes
28		Ethiopia	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
29		Kenya	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
30		Madagascar	Both	Civil unrest/	Both	No	Partly
31		Malawi	Small arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	No
32		Mauritius	Small arms	Crime	Foreign	No	No
33		Mayotte	–	–	–	–	–
34		Mozambique	Small arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	Partly
35		Reunion	–	–	–	–	–
36		Rwanda	Small Arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	No
37		Seychelles	–	–	–	–	–
38		Somalia	Both	Civil Unrest/Banditry	Both	No	Yes
39		South Sudan	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Yes
40		Tanzania	Small Arms	Robbery	Local	No	No
41		Uganda	Small Arms	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
42		Zambia	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	No
43		Zimbabwe	Small Arms	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	Yes	No
44	Central Africa	Angola	Small Arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	No
45		Cameroon	Both	Civil Unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Partly
46		Central Africa Republic	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Both	No	Yes
47		Chad	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Robbery	Foreign	No	Partly
48		Congo	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Crime	Both	No	Partly
49		Congo Democratic Republic	Both	Civil unrest/Human trafficking/Crime	Both	No	Yes
50		Equatorial Guinea	Small arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	Partly
51		Gabon	Small Arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	Partly
52		Sao Tome and Principe	–	–	–	–	–
53	Southern Africa	Botswana	Both	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	Partly
54		Lesotho	Both	Civil unrest/Crime	Foreign	No	Partly
55		Namibia	Small Arms	Civil unrest	Foreign	No	No
56		South Africa	Small arms	Robbery/Ethnic	Local	Yes	No
57		Swaziland	–	–	–		–
Total	5	57

1. Source Small Arms Survey (2018)