Thursday, January 17, 2013

Guns in Africa


But there is actually a gun problem in the world, which is when criminal gangs get hold of guns.

StrategyPage has an article about a lot of AK47's in Africa used by gangs etc to kill people.



The cheap AK-47s resulted in traditional crimes, like stealing cattle or land, turning into bloody battles. The violence has caused millions to flee their homes and wrecked local government in many areas. Sending in additional police and soldiers, when available, quiets things down somewhat. But the local guys with the guns know where to hide and the government reinforcements usually don't. So, eventually, the police will leave and the AK-47s will still be there....

and anarchy/displacement can kill a lot more people than actual bullets:
The disruptive effect of all these guns has halted, or reversed, decades of progress in treating endemic diseases. Death rates from disease and malnutrition are going up. All because of several million Cold War surplus AK-47s getting dumped in Africa in the 1990s.


It gets worse. Read the whole thing.

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