further disciplinary action in the future.

Imogen Foulkes reporting

World News from the BBC

Opposition activists and residents say Syrian security forces have killed at least 12 civilians, mainly in a town in the province of Homs, as the authorities continue to try to stop protests against President Assad's rule. Communications and electricity in the town of Kassir are reported to be cut off, and security forces are carrying out mass arrests. Elsewhere in Syria, there are reports that the army has gained control of the city of Deir al-Zour, close to the border with Iraq.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast says 26 people have been killed in the past month, mainly by armed groups loyal to President Alassane Ouattara, who

assume

d office in April. The killings took place in the south and west of the country, where some groups remain loyal to the former President Laurent Gbagbo. The UN says a small number of the killings were carried out by pro-Gbagbo militia groups.

The International Maritime Bureau says piracy has become more common off the West African state of Benin with 15 attacks in the first half of this year. The head of the bureau, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, explained how the pirates operated.

"The vessels are taken over by armed pirates and then forced to sail to an unknown

destination

, where the cargo is

discharge

d into a smaller tanker, and then the vessel is brought back and released.