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A police officer and a bank official were shot dead by armed bank robbers in a shootout

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with police in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania.

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It could be any city in the world, but it's still two more deaths because of illicit guns.

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Illicit guns kill about half a million people worldwide every year.

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These weapons are cheap, portable and readily available across many countries in East Africa.

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Hundreds of thousands are in circulation among the civilian population.

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In the year 2000, Tanzania signed up to the Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms and Light

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Weapons and embarked on a five-year national plan of action to tackle the problem.

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It's the first such comprehensive national plan anywhere in the world.

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In a continent struggling with famine, corruption, disease and conflict, the abundant supply

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of illicit weapons is holding up development.

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Once there is insecurity, there's a lack of production, there's a lack of movement

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of people and there's a general deterioration of the economic well-being of that community.

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As well as seizing illicit weapons, Tanzania is updating its licensing system for legally

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held weapons.

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Computerisation is part of the arms management plan and 10,000 records a month are currently

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being entered.

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To ensure confidence remains high and disarmament continues, public displays of gun destruction

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are held around the country using a mobile gun cruncher.

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In the long term, the success of this programme will also depend on the success of Tanzania's

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neighbours to deal with the issue within their borders.

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There is much for them to learn here.

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Tanzania is an example, not only in the African continent, in terms of what government and

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civil society can do together once they cooperate on a common problem.

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The European Union is working to reduce the devastating impact of illicit small arms in

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developing countries.

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Development and security are interlinked and progress on both must not be undermined by

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illicit guns.