Togo

The northern region of Togo has experienced incursions by Islamist terrorist groups, particularly from neighbouring Burkina Faso. These attacks have led to numerous casualties and heightened insecurity.

The northern areas are plagued by smuggling of gold, drugs, arms and fuel, which stirs up local tensions and finances terrorists. There are also tensions between herders and settled farmers over access to land.

Togo's neighbours in the Sahel region of northern Africa have seen 10 years of conflict. They've weathered civil wars, military coups and the rise of terrorist groups. This has hindered their ability to keep government-held weapons secure, and prevent illicit arms from circulating.

There are concerns of violence spilling over from other Sahel countries, where trafficking is prolific and there are increasing attacks from terrorist groups.

HALO has been working in the region for over a decade. We've built secure armories and disposed of obsolete ammunition for Togo's neighbours.

In 2023, after assessing weapons management capacity across Coastal West Africa, our work here expanded. HALO launched a region-wide program to grow stability in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and Togo.

In all four countries, HALO is focusing on three main areas:

• Securing government-held weapons

• Disposing of obsolete and dangerous weapons and ammunition

• Building regional capacity for weapons security and management