UN: Terrorists in Nigeria use weapons looted from Libya found

The United Nations says some weapons looted during the Libyan conflict in 2011 ended up in the hands of extremist groups in Nigeria.

Speaking to delegates on the spread of illicit firearms on Tuesday, at the UN headquarters in New York, United States, Izumi Nakamitsu, UN under-secretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, said looted weapons fuel violence in communities long after wars have ended.

Nakamitsu said weapons looted during the 2011 conflict in Libya resurfaced across the Sahel region and have caused devastation across peaceful communities. “Libya, where weapons looted or diverted during and after the 2011 conflict, which ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, later surfaced across the wider Sahel region, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria,” Nakamitsu said. “Some were subsequently found in the hands of extremist groups, illustrating how arms from one conflict can destabilise neighbouring countries years later.

“The end of the conflict does not mean the end of the circulation of those weapons; it stays, and it continues to harm people.” Thecable