Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - Over 300 billion dollars were lost because of African wars between 1990 and 2005. Billions were diverted from development in Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Congo, Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda, according to a report presented by three NGOs which have operated in Africa for a long time, Oxfam, International Action Network on Small Arms IANSA and Saferworld.
The report “Africa's lost billions. International arms trafficking and the cost of conflict”, was presented on 10 October in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Africa suffers enormously due to conflict and armed violence” the report says in the introduction. “Apart from the human tragedy, conflicts cost Africa about 18 billion dollars a year, seriously impeding development".
“The most used weapon is the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Most of the arms and ammunition - perhaps 95% - come from outside Africa", the report explains. The novelty of the report is that it highlights the importance of stopping not only the flow of arms but also and especially the flow of ammunition. Without bullets a rifle is useless, except as a club. The Kalashnikov used in Africa is the AK47 type and by-products (produced in various countries) which use calibre 7,62x39 ammunition. In Russia new models with different ammunition are used. It would be enough to put an international ban on the ammunition to render useless millions of old Kalashnikovs still all over the world. The report gives examples of how shortage of ammunition has forced combatants to stop fighting. According to the reliable Jane’s Ammunition Handbook, calibre 7,62x39 ammunition is produced in 19 non African countries (Russia, Armenia, Brazil, Bosnia, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, North Korea, Finland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, United States and Hungary) as well as in Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
In Africa this type of rifle is used not only by armies and guerrilla groups but also by common crime, which creates situations of insecurity in countries such as Kenya and South Africa. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2007 righe 29 parole 392)
