Police detail refugee arms problem

The Tanzanian police confiscated a total of 1,016 guns and 5,650 rounds of ammunition in refugee regions of the country between January 1998 and September 1999, the 'Guardian' reported at the weekend. Most of the arms were brought into Tanzania by refugees and seized in the western regions of Kigoma, Kagera, Rukwa and Tabora - which host tens of thousands of Burundian, Rwandan and Congolese refugees - the paper quoted Director of Criminal Investigation Abadi Rajabu as saying. The weapons, which did not include illegally held arms already surrendered to the police, were being used by bandits in their criminal offenses and threatened not only the lives of innocent civilians but the development of the whole affected area, Rajabu added.