The United Nations has said some weapons looted during the 2011 Libyan conflict have ended up in the hands of extremist groups in Nigeria.
UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, disclosed this at the UN Headquarters in New York during discussions on the global spread of illicit firearms.
Nakamitsu said weapons looted or diverted during and after the conflict that ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi later spread across the wider Sahel region.
According to her, some of the weapons surfaced in Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria before eventually ending up with extremist groups.
She warned that the end of a conflict does not mean the end of the circulation of weapons, stressing that such arms continue to harm people years after wars have ended.
The UN official said the Libya example shows how weapons from one conflict can destabilise neighbouring countries long after the original war is over.
She also noted that illicit firearms continue to fuel terrorism, organised crime and violent extremism across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.
The warning comes amid Nigeria’s ongoing battle against terrorism, banditry and armed attacks in several parts of the country.
