Zambian villagers living along the Angolan border have been bartering goats and chickens in exchange for AK-47 rifles from their hungry Angolan neighbours, police reported on Tuesday.
The Angolans, emerging from decades of civil war, are facing a hunger crisis and a surplus of weapons.
Police in the northwest region of Zambia said they have begun a crackdown on this unusual trade which they fear could spark a security threat.
”Unfortunately, Angolans in these border areas do not have enough to eat and what they have in abundance are guns which they are now ready to exchange for a goat or a handful of chickens,” said regional police chief Kamwi Kabisa.
Most of the guns have been used for hunting wild animals, but eight cases of murder were recently reported, prompting the crackdown.
Angola has been at war almost continuously since it began fighting against Portugal’s colonial rule in 1961. After its 1975 independence, the country’s two main factions turned on each other.
The civil war ended a year ago after the army killed Unita leader Jonas Savimbi.
The lengthy war has crippled Angola’s economy. – Sapa-AP