Angola has collected more than 200,000 illegal firearms through a new disarmament plan meant to sweep up weapons littering the country following its 27-year civil war, state radio RNA reported Tuesday.

"We had already collected more than 200,000 weapons" since the programme was launched in March, said Paulo de Almeida, a deputy commander of the National Police.

The weapons were mostly AK-47s and pistols, as well as ammunition, he said.

Under Angolan law, only the military and the police are allowed to carry weapons.

But many people in Africa's biggest oil-producing country own weapons obtained during the nearly three-decade conflict that ended in 2002.

Angola launched a scheme in March to encourage people to voluntarily hand over their weapons to authorities. The plan aimed especially to fight the illegal proliferation of weapons ahead of legislative elections held in September.

The exact number of illegal firearms in the hands of civilians is unknown, but estimates by civic groups run into the millions.