Armed Conflict and Disarmament. Selected Central African Case Studies

This monograph by Nelson Alusala analyzes the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and the dynamics of armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and Chad. It examines how the availability of SALW undermines human development and governance, while evaluating disarmament efforts and recommending international and national interventions to break the cycle of violence.

• The proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Central Africa negatively impact development, governance, and the safety of states and individuals, contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths and displacement.
• In the Central African Republic (CAR), porous borders and ineffective monitoring of ports of entry have allowed SALW to flow into and out of the country, bypassing United Nations Security Council arms embargoes. While the government has seen some success in disarming former combatants, it faces ongoing threats from rebel groups such as the Union des Forces Démocratiques pour le Rassemblement (UFDR) and l’Armée Populaire pour la Réstauration de la République et la Démocratie (APRD).
• Chad is characterized by a history of authoritarian leadership and poor governance, which has fostered a unique gun culture and high rates of civilian gun ownership. This easy access to SALW has enabled opposition groups, including the Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques (RAFD), the Front Uni pour le Changement (FUC), and the Union des Forces pour la Démocratie et le Dévéloppement (UFDD), to conduct armed assaults on urban areas like the capital, N’Djamena.
• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), non-state armed groups have facilitated the virtually unhindered proliferation of SALW. The country has implemented experimental disarmament initiatives for foreign and Congolese combatants with mixed results, and ongoing violence in the east remains a major obstacle to peace.
• To control arms proliferation and conflict, the author recommends that the international community and the African Union (AU) pressure arms suppliers and non-state actors to follow human rights law, strictly enforce arms embargoes, and improve the management of government armouries. Additionally, there is a need for national legislation on gun ownership and trade, better security screening at ports of entry, and the involvement of civil society in peace initiatives.

APA

Alusala, N. (n.d.). Armed Conflict and Disarmament. Selected Central African Case Studies. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-129-armed-conflict-and-disarmament.-selected-central-african-case-studies-nelson-alusala

Chicago

Alusala, Nelson. Armed Conflict and Disarmament. Selected Central African Case Studies. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-129-armed-conflict-and-disarmament.-selected-central-african-case-studies-nelson-alusala.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alusala |first1=Nelson |title=Armed Conflict and Disarmament. Selected Central African Case Studies |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-129-armed-conflict-and-disarmament.-selected-central-african-case-studies-nelson-alusala |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alusalandarmed, author = {Alusala, Nelson}, title = {{Armed Conflict and Disarmament. Selected Central African Case Studies}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-129-armed-conflict-and-disarmament.-selected-central-african-case-studies-nelson-alusala}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }