An injured man is helped out of a car as he arrives at a military hospital in Tirana
'Considerable' number killed, 200 hurt in Albanian munitions blast (click here)
19 hours ago
TIRANA (AFP) — A series of powerful blasts rocked an army depot housing communist-era munitions near the Albanian capital Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring 200, with many more feared dead, officials said.
"The toll could increase and we are in the process of verifying the lists of people who worked in the depot this morning," Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha told reporters late on Saturday.
Earlier he said the number of dead was "considerable."
A rescue mission, initially planned to continue overnight, "will resume in the morning (Sunday) because explosions are still going on and it is impossible to keep searching during the night," the prime minister said.
Approximately 121 people were present at the depot at the time of the explosion, Berisha said, adding that many of them could have found refuge between two first blasts.
Rescuers at the site, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Tirana, recovered five bodies, Berisha's spokeswoman Juela Mecani said earlier.
"Three people were identified: a 40-year old woman Rajmonda Tudi and two men -- Mehmet Hoxha, 59, and Edvin Pollozi, 19," Berisha said.
The first explosion occurred around noon (1100 GMT), touching off more explosions throughout the day.
Military experts were disposing of shells at the time of the first blast, assisted by employees of a US company contracted by NATO to help the Albanian army get rid of surplus munitions dating from the communist era.
But "there was no foreign citizen working this morning" at the depot, Berisha told reporters.
Destroying the old munitions is one of the conditions Albania must fulfill to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Special army units with armoured vehicles had been deployed to help rescuers working there....
19 hours ago
TIRANA (AFP) — A series of powerful blasts rocked an army depot housing communist-era munitions near the Albanian capital Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring 200, with many more feared dead, officials said.
"The toll could increase and we are in the process of verifying the lists of people who worked in the depot this morning," Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha told reporters late on Saturday.
Earlier he said the number of dead was "considerable."
A rescue mission, initially planned to continue overnight, "will resume in the morning (Sunday) because explosions are still going on and it is impossible to keep searching during the night," the prime minister said.
Approximately 121 people were present at the depot at the time of the explosion, Berisha said, adding that many of them could have found refuge between two first blasts.
Rescuers at the site, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Tirana, recovered five bodies, Berisha's spokeswoman Juela Mecani said earlier.
"Three people were identified: a 40-year old woman Rajmonda Tudi and two men -- Mehmet Hoxha, 59, and Edvin Pollozi, 19," Berisha said.
The first explosion occurred around noon (1100 GMT), touching off more explosions throughout the day.
Military experts were disposing of shells at the time of the first blast, assisted by employees of a US company contracted by NATO to help the Albanian army get rid of surplus munitions dating from the communist era.
But "there was no foreign citizen working this morning" at the depot, Berisha told reporters.
Destroying the old munitions is one of the conditions Albania must fulfill to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Special army units with armoured vehicles had been deployed to help rescuers working there....
February 15, 2008
White Paper: Putting the Impact of Cluster Munitions In Context with the Effects of All Explosive Remnants of War
The United States shares the humanitarian concerns expressed by many other countries with regard to the use of cluster munitions. In order to find an internationally-accepted way of effectively addressing the humanitarian aspects associated with cluster munitions, all relevant facts should be considered. Unfortunately, much of what is said for public consumption by certain advocacy groups and some foreign governments on this issue is not accurate. Therefore, as part of the United States’ overall policy of contributing to meaningful progress on concerns related to cluster munitions, including its strong support for the negotiation of a new Protocol to address the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), this White Paper is being released in order to ensure that all parties interested in this issue have available the most accurate information possible....
White Paper: Putting the Impact of Cluster Munitions In Context with the Effects of All Explosive Remnants of War
The United States shares the humanitarian concerns expressed by many other countries with regard to the use of cluster munitions. In order to find an internationally-accepted way of effectively addressing the humanitarian aspects associated with cluster munitions, all relevant facts should be considered. Unfortunately, much of what is said for public consumption by certain advocacy groups and some foreign governments on this issue is not accurate. Therefore, as part of the United States’ overall policy of contributing to meaningful progress on concerns related to cluster munitions, including its strong support for the negotiation of a new Protocol to address the humanitarian impact of cluster munitions within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), this White Paper is being released in order to ensure that all parties interested in this issue have available the most accurate information possible....
