Pope Benedict XVI issued an appeal Monday for arms dealers to think of the victims of their lucrative trade, especially in Africa, as he welcomed Cameroon's new ambassador to the Vatican.

"I call on all those people implicated in the sale, or the trafficking, of arms, with its often very lucrative profits, to ask themselves about what their behaviour begets," the pontiff said whilst welcoming Ambassador Antoine Zanga to his post.

He called on the countries of central Africa to face down various conflicts "in which the innocent population, with the Church itself, are often unfortunately the victims."

The pope recalled the many religious victims of violence in the continent, including the slain Bishop Yves Plumey, murdered in 1991.

He also expressed concern for Cameroon's current economic plight, but added that there were "internal factors which could influence growth."

"Every nation must seek economic and social stability, in accordance with its own means and institutions," the pontiff said.

earlier related report
France Slashes 54,000 Defence Jobs
France is to slash 54,000 military and civilian defence jobs over as part of a new security plan to be presented Tuesday that places greater emphasis on the intelligence war, officials said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy is to present a white paper defining a new French defence doctrine for the next 15 years on Tuesday during an address to some 3,000 senior officers, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The cuts will pare down the armed, air and navy forces and civilian jobs, paring down the size of defence ministry staff from 320,000 employees.

Defence Minister Herve Morin is to announce up to 50 closures of bases and defence facilities in early July.

Written by a panel of 35 experts, the white paper confirms France's goal of returning to NATO's integrated command and places new emphasis on intelligence to confront the threats of the post-September 11 world.

"There is a very strong emphasis on intelligence, recognizing that the world may not be more dangerous than it was in 1994 when we did the previous white paper, but it seems more unpredictable," said Bruno Tertrais, one of the members of the expert panel.

The new doctrine reflects a shift for France, which has the largest army of the European Union, to make homeland security part of its defence strategy in the age of terrorism, cyber-attacks and natural disasters.

The last defence review was carried out in 1994 under President Jacques Chirac who focussed on consolidating the gains of the end of the Cold War. A previous one was drafted in 1972.

France's defence spending will total 377 billion euros (583 billion dollars) from 2009 to 2020, sources at the Elysee said.

A decision on whether to build a second aircraft carrier, estimated to cost 3.5 billion euros, has been postponed until 2011-2012, as previously announced by Sarkozy.