Yemen has complained to the Council about a seized weapons shipment it says was sent by Iran whom it claims is supporting a southern separatist movement.

BBC: Yemen: UN warns ex leaders of sanctions if they meddle

That has been even truer since April 5th, when Umberto Bossi resigned as head of the Northern League, the regionalist-cum-separatist movement he founded in 1991, which held the balance of power until the fall of Silvio Berlusconi's government last year.

ECONOMIST: Italian politics

The French raids began this week in response to an armed separatist movement, which has cut off the North of Mali from the rest of the rest of the country and threatened strict and reportedly violent treatment of the local population.

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The BBC's Mame Less Camara, in Dakar, says that the ferry probably resumed service before it had undergone sufficient checks because the Senegalese Government wanted to show goodwill towards the separatist movement of Casamance, which whom it was supposed to resume talks.

BBC: Q&A: What caused the Joola ferry disaster?

It sees the dispute as a purely bilateral matter between the two governments and conceding any form of self-determination for the people of Gibraltar would set an unwelcome precedent that might be exploited by the separatist movement in the Basque country of northern Spain.

BBC: Reshuffle sparks Gibraltar talks fears

Tensions between Jakarta and Aceh have been running high recently over the decision by Aceh's parliament to use the flag of the now defunct separatist Free Aceh Movement as its official symbol, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta reports.

BBC: Amnesty: Indonesia 'failing to uphold' Aceh peace terms

But the alliance quickly collapsed, and the Islamists drove out the Tuareg separatist group - the National Movement Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) - from the main cities and towns in the north.

BBC: Mali conflict: 'Tortured Tuaregs die in Bamako jail'

Reports have also emerged that a senior figure in the main militant Islamist movement - Ansar Dine - has been captured near the Algerian border by a rival separatist group.

BBC: Kidal assault: French jets bomb northern Mali