The Sahel, a belt in the middle of Africa, is plagued by insurgency and banditry, fuelled by the illegal arms trade. The trade has caused untold misery to millions of people who have had to flee their communities to seek safety and has created a buyer's market for guns. Insurgency and banditry are rooted in endemic intercommunal tensions, clashes between farmers and herders, violent religious extremism, and competition over scarce resources. The illegal markets for arms are often hidden in plain sight in towns and villages along strategic corridors and lay unhampered by the presence of authorities.

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