Anti-gun rally held in Washington

Many of the protesters had lost loved ones to gun violence

About 2,000 people have marched in Washington to urge President George W Bush to renew a ban on assault weapons.

The ban - approved 10 years ago after a series of high-profile shootings - is due to expire in September.

Sunday's protest was much smaller than a similar event that attracted 750,000 people four years ago.

The ban on assault weapons has been condemned as ineffective by critics, who include both opponents and supporters of gun control.

The Washington march was attended by gun-control advocates, members of Congress, and victims of shootings.

Loophole

At the head of the rally a banner showed an assault rifle, and said Mr Bush would be to blame for more violence unless he fulfilled a previous promise to extend the 1994 ban.

The 2000 march attracted 750,000 people - including the Clintons

"We are working very hard in Iraq to get AK-47s off the street, to get Uzis off the streets," said Representative Chris van Hollen of Maryland.

"The president says we're fighting the war on terror by doing that. What about the terror right here on our streets at home?"

However the protest drew much fewer people than the so-called "million-mom march" of 2000.

The BBC's Janat Jalil in Washington says this time round the gun issue has been overshadowed by other public concerns, like Iraq and the state of the US economy.

Mr Bush is also under pressure not to renew the ban from the National Rifle Association, a lobby group with close ties to his Republican party.

The NRA says the ban has not worked. Some gun control groups agree.

They say loopholes have allowed manufacturers to make guns which are almost identical to assault weapons, but are not covered by the ban.