Illicit arms flows continue to destabilise the African continent, fuelling crime, conflict, and terrorist activities. Subregions affected by recurrent armed conflict experience the most organised forms of illicit arms trafficking, sometimes involving large quantities of weapons and specialised armed groups.

Throughout the continent an ‘ant trade’ in small quantities of weapons contributes to meeting local demand fuelled by low-level criminality, poaching, and the need for self- protection. Cross-border trafficking by land is the most prominent type of illicit arms flow in Africa.