Weapons ban on DR Congo fighters
The UN Security Council has widened an international arms embargo to include all rebel and militia groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It will punish violators with a travel ban and freezing of assets. The ban follows a recent push to disarm militias in the volatile east and comes after a pledge from the main Hutu rebel group to disband and go home to Rwanda. Ethnic warfare, fuelled by ready access to weapons, has cost the lives of tens of thousands of civilians in the east. The five-year war drew in six countries before it was declared over in 2002.Full Story