| | - |
|
Over a million illegal arms in Sri Lanka: watchdog |
 |
+ |
- |
08:28, October 29, 2007 |
There are over 1.3 million illegal weapons in use in Sri Lanka, a South Asian watch group on the use of small arms said here Sunday.
"According to the Small Arms Survey conducted since 2003 it has been found that there are over 2.3 million small arms in the country. 1.3 million of them are illegal weapons," Ranjith Srilal Piyaratna, the local program co-ordinator of the South Asia Small Arms Network said.
Piyaratna said that the availability of illegal small arms has led to the escalation of the rate of crime in the island.
"It is possible that most of these illegal small arms have come into the country via the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) rebels. The 1988-89 insurrection was another reason," Piyaratna said.
The 1988-89 insurrection is blamed on the JVP or the People's Liberation Front who waged an armed campaign against the then government.
Piyaratna said that the Small Arms Network has organized pilot projects in different districts of the country to try and help authorities combat the problem of illegal weapons.
Source: Xinhua
|
|
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article