A senior Belgian minister has resigned in protest at a government decision to allow the sale of 5,500 machine guns to Nepal.
The Green Party minister Ms Magda Aelvoet, who was minister for public health resigned over the deal that will see the guns used by Nepalese armed forces against Maoist rebels.
"Since the decision was taken within the core cabinet, it was not possible for her as a government member to distance herself from it," a statement from Ms Aelvoet’s office said.
The deal has drawn fierce criticism from several Belgian parliamentarians, including members from parties that form the country's six-party coalition government.
But Foreign Minister Mr Louis Michel defended the decision. "It was an ethical decision. It would not have been ethical to refuse this export licence," he told Belgian radio.
He said the Nepalese conflict was between a democratically elected government and a group of Maoist rebels, who represented only a fraction of Nepal's population.
The Maoists, have been waging a bloody rebellion since 1996 in pursuit of a communist republic in Nepal.