Countries of the Mano River basin in West Africa are trying to forge a joint strategy to counter the cross-border movement of armed groups and the illegal trafficking of weapons in their region. Representatives of the United Nations and regional organizations joined the talks on Saturday. Decades of armed conflict and political strife, including civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia, have caused lasting issues of insecurity in the Mano River region, particularly in... (GunPolicy.org)

Reckless and illegal arms supplies from Europe, Africa and China to the warring parties in Côte d'Ivoire over the past decade continue to fuel grave human rights abuses and violent crime in the country, Amnesty International said in a detailed report launched at the United Nations (UN) headquarters. The 33-page report, Communities shattered by arms proliferation and abuse in Côte d'Ivoire, documents how a handful of states and a network of multinational arms... (GunPolicy.org)

Fifteen Russian sailors have been charged in a court in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, with illegally bringing weapons into the country. The crew of the MV Myre Seadiver were denied bail by the High Court, pending a final ruling on Monday. The Nigerian navy had seized the ship, owned by Moscow-based security firm Moran, last October. Moran has said the ship had permission to carry arms and had stopped in Lagos to change crew. The vessel had been travelling from... (GunPolicy.org)

The first clues appeared in Kenya, Uganda and what is now South Sudan. A British arms researcher surveying ammunition used by government forces and civilian militias in 2006 found Kalashnikov rifle cartridges he had not seen before. The ammunition bore no factory code, suggesting that its manufacturer hoped to avoid detection. Within two years other researchers were finding identical cartridges circulating through the ethnic violence in Darfur. Similar ammunition then... (GunPolicy.org)

Spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Andrei Savinykh denied reports of arms shipments to Côte d'Ivoire in violation of the UN sanctions. "It's not even an accusation; it's a clumsy attempt of individual journalists to muddy the waters, as the proverb says," he said. "The Belarusian side has been always cooperating openly with experts from the UN Security Council Committee on Côte d'Ivoire, whose reports these pseudo-journalists referred to. If they really... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: With the support of the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, Brazilian gun manufacturers seek new markets in countries with a history of human rights violations: Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines and Yemen. Brazil is among the six countries in the world with annual exports exceeding $ 100 million, according to recent research from Small Arms Survey. According to the Army, responsible for supervising and controlling exports from 2005 to... (GunPolicy.org)

ABUJA - The West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) is to conduct joint security operations for safer and more secure sub-region, according to a statement by the Commission. The statement, made available to newsmen in Abuja stated that it was part of commitments made at the just-concluded meeting of the technical sub-committees of WAPCCO in Conakry, Guinea. The chiefs agreed to focus on trafficking in small arms and light weapons as a priority for the first... (GunPolicy.org)

DAKAR, Senegal - The Movement against Light Weapons in West Africa (MALA0), in partnership with civil society organizations, among them Présence chrétienne and SOS Equilibre, on Monday in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, launched a week-long action against armed violence. The 10-16 May initiative, launched for the first time in 2001, aims at stopping the proliferation and the excessive use of small arms in the world. The initiative will also sensitize and campaign for... (GunPolicy.org)

ABUJA, Nigeria — West Africa regional bloc ECOWAS on Saturday imposed an arms embargo against Guinea, accusing the ruling military junta for "mass human rights violations" during anti-government protests last month. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also threatened full sanctions on Niger if President Mamadou Tandja does not take immediate steps to resolve the country's political crisis. International pressure has increased for Guinea's military... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: Malian security agents tracking Illegal gun cache arrested, stripped of their weapons; suspect gun runner detained in Guinea.] L'arrestation d'un chef de bande de trafiquants d'armes et de produits prohibés a failli mal tourner entre les agents de la SE et une patrouille militaire de l'armée guinéenne le week end dernier à la frontière commune de nos deux pays. Que s'est-il réellement passé ? En effet, c'est dans le cadre de la recherche... (GunPolicy.org)

The Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the ECOWAS Small Arms and Light Weapons Programme (ECOSAP), last Tuesday began a two-day meeting on ECOSAP Cluster "A" review and planning for national commissions on small arms and light weapons, held at the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi. The meeting which comprised of delegates from Cape Verde, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia, is organized within the framework of the sub-regional initiative, spearheaded by... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: In Guinea-Bissau, the prefecture of Koumbia publicly incinerated 354 guns and light weapons]. Conakry — Dans la sous préfecture de Koumbia à Gaoual, les autorités civiles et militaires ont procédé samedi 9 juin dernier, à l'incinération de quelques 354 armes légères. Selon les observateurs, ces armes, circulaient dans les différentes frontières entre la Guinée , le Sénégal, la Gambie et la Guinée Bissao , il y a 60 ans ! … La... (GunPolicy.org)

Mobs looted guns from police stations in Conakry over the weekend and began blocking roads and battling riot police and soldiers in various suburbs around the capital Conakry. The groups set up dozens more roadblocks on Monday and continued running battles with security forces. Groups have also been seen attacking cars and passers-by, IRIN correspondents in Conakry said. Shops are being looted and residents in various suburbs said their houses were being broken into. ... (GunPolicy.org)