New report on improvised explosive devices in West Africa
The use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in West Africa expanded dramatically over the last decade. IED-building networks have established material and training links across conflict areas in West and Central Africa, and their designs have remained constant and inexpensive throughout the region—helping to increase their use in attacks against domestic and international security forces, UN peacekeepers, and civilians.
Out of Control: The Trafficking of Improvised Explosive Device Components and Commercial Explosives in West Africa—a new report from the Small Arms Survey’s Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in West Africa project—analyses data from more than 2,200 IED-related incidents between March 2013 and September 2022, and stresses the importance of coordinated regional approaches in eliminating illegal IED use in West and Central Africa.
For more, check out:
- Perceptions, Vulnerabilities, and Prevention: Violent Extremism Threat Assessment in Selected Regions of the Southern Libyan Borderlands and North-Western Nigeria—a report that examines the dynamics of risk factors associated with violent extremism in southern Libya and the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger, and Sudan, as well as Nigeria
- A Primer: IEDs in the Sahel and West Africa—a blog post that documents the trafficking of IED components in the Sahel and West Africa
- The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in West Africa project page
- A pathway to a Regional C-IED Strategy in West Africa project page
- Outputs about IEDs in our Resource Library
Other news from the Survey:
- New HSBA Briefing Paper on how Governor Rin Tueny Mabor has pacified opposition in Lakes state
- New Briefing Paper on the production of craft firearms in West Africa
- New HSBA Situation Update on power and violence in Warrap state, South Sudan
- New joint report on effective and innovative practices among European civilian firearm registries
- The Small Arms Survey and the Center for Security Studies (CENSS) joint press release on the Inception Meeting of the Ukrainian Network Group—The Risks Of Illicit Small Arms And Light Weapons Proliferation