Chile's president receives information on disappeared

The armed forces and church groups in Chile have handed over to President Ricardo Lagos information relating to people who disappeared during General Augusto Pinochet's military rule.

Last June, the armed forces signed an accord with human rights and church representatives to try to clarify the fate of more than a-thousand people whose whereabouts remain unknown.

The agreement set a deadline of six months for the data to be submitted, which expires tomorrow Saturday, and guaranteed anonymity for any member or former member of the military providing information.

Some families of the missing criticised the accord as guaranteeing impunity for the armed forces.

President Lagos is due to forward the information to the courts on Monday.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service