Publication

This publication examines the acquisition of small arms and light weapons by both rebel groups and the government during the Sierra Leone civil war, despite the UN arms embargo of 1997. The author questions the effectiveness of previous and current armament and disarmament policies and discusses the likelihood of continued conflict given the easy availability of arms in the country. The report concludes that whereas rebel groups obtained illegal weapons via Liberia and Burkina Faso, the UK supplied arms to the government.