Gwenn DUBOURTHOUMIEU
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In the aftermath of the recent war that ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo, large amount of weapons and ammunitions were abandoned, hidden or stored in unsafe conditions around the country. Years after of the fighting, explosive ordnance continue to kill, either because they are handle by civilians unaware of the danger, or simply because they detonate fortuitously. Moreover, these weapons and ammunitions hinder the current peaceful transition process. Stockpile management is almost non-existent; the DRC Government does not know how many of its arms are stored at which depots and with which units. Moreover, poverty and the lack of accountability allows soldiers to sell small quantities of weapons and ammunition for money. As a consequence, arms’ trafficking is continuous in DRC. It fuels and propagates a perpetual climate of insecurity.