Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Weapons used during conflicts often remain uncontrolled afterward, hidden or trafficked across borders and perpetuating violence long after wars end, according to Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN’s top disarmament official.
Among emerging concerns are ghost guns—firearms assembled from parts or kits without serial numbers—which are nearly impossible for authorities to trace. Advances in 3D-printing technology now allow components or even entire firearms to be produced outside traditional regulatory systems, making illicit manufacture easier and tracing more difficult.
Small arms, such as pistols and assault rifles, and light weapons, including grenade launchers and portable machine guns, are inexpensive, durable, and easy to use, which contributes to their prolonged circulation. Ready availability of ammunition sustains their use in conflicts, crime, and terrorism.
One cited example is Libya, where weapons looted during and after the 2011 conflict later appeared across the Sahel region, including Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. Some ended up with extremist groups, illustrating how arms from one conflict can destabilize neighboring regions years later.