From Jane's Police Review
With more than four million illegal guns in circulation alarm bells are beginning to ring in the region. Hobbs Gama reports from Malawi
Security authorities are expressing concern about smuggled weaponry being used in conflicts in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The Interpol sub-regional bureau for Southern Africa says there are more than four million unregulated light weapons in circulation.
The weapons are not only being used in criminal activities, but some are being refurbished and supplied to areas where there is conflict. Criminals are taking advantage of the resurgence of war in several African countries, which threaten to spread the length and breadth of the continent. Weapons have been in the region since colonial times, because of independence wars, proxy cold war confrontations, through indigenous arms industry developments and local conflicts.
'The same weapons which are remnants of previous and current wars are highly sought-after in areas where there is continuing armed conflict,' according to Frank Msutu, the head of Interpol's sub-regional bureau.
He said most of the unregulated weapons currently doing the rounds are machine guns, grenades, pistols and rockets launchers.
The number of illicit arms has been growing since the beginning of various struggles for independence. When hostilities ebbed many were left uncontrolled, some in the hands of civilians drawn into the conflict, others in arms caches whose locations were either forgotten or deliberately not identified so that they could be reused in any possible future conflict.
Interpol reports that internal power struggles followed liberation, and firearms were distributed, mostly without records, to militia forces. There are between 500,000 and four million unregulated weapons in the region according to the report, Controlling small arms proliferation and reversing culture of violence in Africa and the Indian Ocean, which was published last year. With renewed fighting in Angola, the prolonged war in embattled President Laurent Kabila's Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and a sharp rise in violence in South Africa, the region's economic powerhouse, small arms proliferation has become a major political and security issue.
Porous borders, the outbreak of conflict in Central Africa involving a number of SADC states, and massive population flows within Southern Africa, have increased chances for the free movement of light weapons to various markets within and outside the region. In Southern Africa light weapons have become the weapons of choice, the price of war and peace, according to experts.
'The main destination of light weapons is now South Africa, where demand from political and criminal groups is considerable,' says Jakkie Potgieter, a South African security expert. Interpol says that the sub-region is becoming increasingly violent, with large amounts of illegal weapons contributing to the rise. Murders, car jacking, bank robberies, general lawlessness and banditry have become the order of the day. AK47 rifles, normally used in military operations, are now a chief criminal tool.
The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) has made illegal trafficking of firearms a priority. So far the Interpol regional bureau and SARPCCO, which was established in 1995 and has its headquarters in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare, have co-ordinated five joint operations, which covered all the countries in the region. Interpol says Zimbabwe has become the main conduit for small arms, although the market within the country is not considered large when measured against international standards. Zimbabwean security officials claim trafficking in illicit firearms is under control and is not as serious as in other countries.
'The legal sub-committee of SARPCCO is studying various countries' legal systems, especially where they relate to registration of firearms, transfer and sentencing of offenders, Mr Msutu, of Interpol, said. Its recommendations were due to be presented at SARPCCO's annual meeting in July. The organisation has been provided with a computerised communication system by Interpol to enable it to quickly communicate intelligence on the movement of illegal firearms. The data is then relayed to Interpol's criminal intelligence system. Southern African countries are being urged to use the system as, in future, all regional joint operations will become intelligence-driven.
It is only prudent that, with the resurgence of wars, security authorities in the region tackle trafficking in illicit arms. While wars retard the region's development, investors, as indicated by reports from South Africa, are being scared away by violent crime. Illegal arms checks will ensure not only social security but restore investor confidence to aid the region's economic progress