Guns for price of a few chickens

(GIN)?East Africa, as in much of the western world, is awash with illegal and small weapons. An AK- 47 rifle sells for $50 in Uganda, a pistol sells for $30 and a bullet for a few American cents. Inside Sudan, an AK-47 can go for as little as a few chickens.

Uganda is believed to have the worst problem of illegally controlled arms in East Africa

"Governments should urgently reduce their budget on small arms," said Ochieng Adala, director of Africa Peace Forum, which promotes peaceful conflict resolution policies in the Horn and Great Lakes regions of Africa.

Adala, together with some 160 activists from across the world, attended a conference in Nairobi to address the proliferation of and misuse of arms. The meeting, last month, was organized by the Control Arms Campaign, an international anti-arms lobby group It also sought ways to reduce arms trading.

This is part of the May 23, 2007 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.