Armed and aimless: armed groups, guns, and human security in the ECOWAS region

Weapons in hands of West African youths spell trouble

By: Florquin N (Ed) & Berman EG (Ed)
Produced by: Small Arms Survey , 2005

This study looks at the armed groups and small arms in the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. Armed groups in this report are defined as groups that have the capacity to challenge the state’s monopoly of legitimate force. It provides a region-wide mapping of armed groups, covering all 15 ECOWAS member countries., including groups that have been active at any given time since 1998, when the ECOWAS Moratorium on Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons in West Africa was introduced.