Obama to take unilateral action on US gun violence

President Obama has said he will take unilateral action to tackle the problem of gun violence in the US.

In his first weekly address of 2016, Obama said he would meet Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss actions he could take.

He said he was using his executive powers as president because the US Congress has failed to address the problem.

Analysts say there will be a backlash from gun activists and Republicans.

But Obama told Americans that he had received too many letters from parents, and teachers, and children, to sit around and do nothing.

‘We know that we can’t stop every act of violence,’ the president said. ‘But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something - anything - to protect our kids from gun violence?’

He has admitted that his inability to win Congressional backing for what he called ‘common sense gun laws’ was the greatest frustration of his presidency.

The BBC’s Laura Bicker in Washington says the president could use his executive authority in several areas, including expanding new background check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume dealers.

However he is likely to face stiff opposition to his plans, our correspondent says.