Arms seized in Niger from regional gov’t stockpiles – report

New report finds proof that some seized ammunition in Niger got here from West African state stockpiles.

A convoy of Nigerien troopers patrols outdoors the city of Ouallam, Niger, on July 6, 2021 [Reuters]

Vital proportions of weapons and arms seized from armed teams in Niger got here from West African state stockpiles, suggesting authorities are struggling to safe arms shops within the area, a report has mentioned.

There was no suggestion that any governments had been sending weapons to rebels who've launched assaults in Niger in addition to Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria, Battle Armament Analysis (CAR), the group that revealed the report, mentioned on Monday.

As a substitute, the findings confirmed that “sustaining custody of navy materials represents a problem for the area’s nationwide safety forces, significantly these engaged in energetic navy and counterterrorism operations”, CAR added.

The group mentioned it had recognized 165 weapons and 6,243 items of ammunition in October 2019 that authorities had recovered from fighters in Diffa, southeast Niger.

Since then, it mentioned it had been tracing the arms, checking with governments and suppliers.

About 17 % of the weapons got here from stockpiles in Chad, Nigeria and Niger whereas 23 % of ammunition originated from stockpiles in Nigeria, the report mentioned.

The Nigerian and Chadian authorities didn't instantly reply to Reuters requests for remark. A Nigerien authorities spokesman was not reachable for remark.

Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) and different teams have constructed strongholds within the Lake Chad area and launched repeated cross-border raids on civilian areas and navy bases since 2015.

There was proof that Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters used native black markets and smuggling channels to acquire arms, CAR mentioned.

For years, porous borders have been key to the proliferation of small arms by numerous teams within the area.

Almost half the weapons CAR studied had been both manufactured in African nations or originated from shares that had been exported to a rustic in northern or western Africa, the report mentioned.

A few of the weapons had been much like others recovered from al-Qaeda within the Islamic Maghreb and their allies in West Africa, indicating that the teams might overlap or use the identical provide mechanisms, the report added.