Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed an order to tighten gun controls in a bid to halt a surge in firearm ownership.

Under Lula's far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, there was an almost seven-fold rise in registered users.

Limits will be placed on stockpiles of guns and ammunition, while certain weapons, including nine millimetre handguns, will be prohibited.

The new controls fulfil a campaign promise by Lula.

The president blamed a wave of political violence during last year's presidential election on looser gun controls.

"We will continue to fight for fewer weapons in our country. Only the police and the army must be well-armed," Lula said while unveiling the new stricter measures.

The announcement comes after several recent school shootings in a country that registered more than five murders per hour on average in 2022, according to the Public Security Forum, an NGO.

Brazil has almost 800,000 registered gun owners, up from less than 120,000 in 2018 when Mr Bolsonaro was elected, according to the 2023 Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security.

The country has no constitutional right to bear arms.