Row between DR Congo and Belgium

The Belgian Foreign Minister, Erik Derycke, has reacted angrily to accusations in the Democratic Republic of Congo that Belgian diplomats based there have been smuggling arms.

Mr Derycke said the allegations were theatrical and went beyond decent behaviour.

He was responding to a report on Congolese television showing what was purported to be a stockpile of weapons from the Belgian consulate in the southern city of Lubumbashi.

Congolese officials briefly detained three Belgian diplomats over the affair and accused Belgium -- the former colonial power -- of being a terrorist state.

Belgium says the weapons had been sent to protect Belgian nationals during last year's civil war and all sides knew all about them.

The diplomatic row comes after Brussels condemned the decision by the Kinshasa authorities to ban the main human rights group in Congo, AZADHO.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service