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 also plagued by smuggling of gold, drugs, arms, and fuel, which exacerbates local tensions and provides financial resources for terrorist activities. Added to the mix are tensions between herders and settled farmers over land access.

Togo's northern neighbours in the Sahel have seen 10 years of conflict, including civil wars, military coups, and the rise of terrorist groups. This has been compounded by a lack of government capacity to both keep government-held weapons safe and secure and address illicit weapons already circulating.

Violence crosses borders and is driving a regional crisis. There are also concerns of violence spillover from the neighbouring Sahel, where there are increasing attacks from terrorist groups and where trafficking is prolific.

HALO has been working in the region for over a decade and has made progress building secure armories and disposing of unserviceable ammunition for Togo's neighbours such as Guinea Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire.

In 2023, after completing baseline assessments of weapons and ammunition management capacities across the Coastal West Africa region, our work in the region expanded. We now operate across four countries, to assist region-wide stability.

In all four countries, HALO is working to secure government-held weapons, dispose of obsolete and dangerous weapons and ammunition, and build regional capacity for weapons security and management.