Kampala, Oct 4 : Uganda and the African Union (AU) have destroyed more than 100 illicit firearms, marking the launch of joint efforts to curb the spread of small arms and light weapons across the continent.

Ugandan Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Jacob Marksons Oboth presided over the symbolic burning of weapons at the Gaddafi Army Barracks in Jinja, eastern Uganda, on Friday (local time). The exercise was part of the ninth Africa Amnesty Month, observed under the theme "Safer Communities through Voluntary Disarmament."

Oboth called on individuals still in possession of illegal firearms to hand them over voluntarily in the interest of peace and security.

"The 2025 Africa Amnesty Month commemoration here highlights Uganda's commitment to safer communities through disarmament. We need to silence the guns through voluntary disarmament," he said in a joint statement issued on Friday.

Tebelelo Boang, chairperson of the AU Peace and Security Council, said, "firearms destroyed, potential lives saved, and hope renewed."

"Together, we advance disarmament, silence the guns, and build peace for all by 2030," he added.

The commemoration coincided with the opening of a two-day forum in Kampala, where experts and government officials discussed strategies to reduce the proliferation of small arms and light weapons across Africa, reports Xinhua news agency.

The meeting, organised under the AU Peace and Security Council, brought together representatives from the AU, the East African Community, the United Nations, civil society, youth, women's groups and other stakeholders to advance the continental agenda of ending armed violence.

The AU declared September as Africa Amnesty Month in 2017 to encourage civilians to voluntarily surrender illegal firearms without facing prosecution.

/IANS