BENGUELA, Angola, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- More than 110,000 firearms of various calibers have been collected in Angola since 2008 under civilian disarmament campaigns nationwide, provincial commander of the Angolan National Police Aristofanes dos Santos said here on Thursday.
A total of 78,381 firearms of various calibers, 8,884 gun loaders, 101,667 ammunition and 98,626 explosive devices were destroyed, he said at an event in the southern Angolan province of Benguela on the occasion of the Disarmament Week.
Firearms in good technical condition were handed over to the national defense and security forces, the officer added.
Illegal possession of weapons may lead to related violence and crimes, and jeopardize social order and security, dos Santos said.
Benguela provincial governor Rui Falcao said that most of the armaments stemmed from the Angolan Civil War which plagued the nation until 2002 for nearly three decades.
The Disarmament Week on Oct. 24-30, established by the United Nations in 1978, revolves around raising public awareness of the dangers of the arms race and the need for international disarmament.
