UN reopens inquiry into Rwandan arms supplies

The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to re-open its investigations into arms sales to former Rwandan government forces and Hutu militias.

Council members said that reactivating the international commission of inquiry, which was set up after the Rwandan genocide but temporarily closed down last year, could contribute to stabilising the security situation in the region.

The commission will also identify those involved in the illegal supplies of arms and make recommendations for dealing with the problem.

Arms sales to Hutu rebels -- who are accused of continuing to launch attacks in Rwanda -- violate the 1994 UN arms embargo imposed on the the mainly-Hutu former Rwandan government forces.

In Rwanda itself, Hutu rebels are reported to have killed another twenty-eight people in an attack early Thursday morning in the north-west of the country.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service