Reports from Congo Brazzaville say twelve people drowned in the Congo river on Tuesday when a marine patrol boat tried to intercept a canoe.

The canoe was carrying traders from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Brazzaville.

River traffic between the two countries was officially suspended for security reasons when the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo began.

But correspondents say supplies are still being transported illegally between the two countries.