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Displaced civilians in a refugee camp west of Goma. Photo: Irin

DRC: Peace pact brings hope to Kivu

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal on January 24 with several armed groups, including the Tutsi-defending rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda and the Mai Mai militia.

The agreement establishes an immediate ceasefire to end fighting that has caused almost 500 000 people to flee their homes in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu since September.

Private security guards are here to stay, but how should they be regulated?

Private security outnumbers police in South Africa

The ratio of private security officers to uniformed police officers is 2:1 in South Africa, according to a new report from the Institute of Security Studies (ISS).
Private security officers are permitted to carry and use firearms under South African law.

The private security industry has grown exponentially worldwide over the last 30 years, and is growing at a rate of 13% per year in South Africa.

In Arizona, US, a five-year-old boy was injured by a stray bullet fired through his bedroom wall on New Year's Day

Celebratory gunfire claims lives during festivities

The phenomenon of celebratory aerial shooting has ruined religious and social occasions around the world for many years - and tragically, this December-January proved no exception.

Aerial firing is an accepted part of customary celebration in many parts of world. Fuelled with adrenalin and heightened emotion, gunmen point their weapons to the sky - but with little thought of the bullets that then rain down on the heads around them.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, assassinated on 27 December 2007

Call for gun-free elections after Bhutto's death 

IANSA members in Pakistan have called for the elections on 18 February to be gun-free and for the police to act with restraint. At least 47 people have been killed since the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on 27 December.

Ms. Bhutto was killed as her convoy was leaving a rally in Rawalpindi. An assassin opened fire on her car and she suffered a fatal injury to her head. 20 other people killed from a suicide bombing at the same time.