IRIN
MOZAMBIQUE: Neighbourhoods almost cleared of fallen weapons, military says
30 March 2007


MAPUTO, 30 March 2007 (IRIN) - The removal of thousands of rockets and 
artillery shells from neighbourhoods of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, 
is nearly complete, military officials said this week.

About 4,000 units of ordnance have been recovered, representing "more 
than 90 percent" of the weapons blown into houses and streets by last 
week's explosions at the Malhazine munitions dump, the largest such 
facility in the country.

Falling ordnance killed more than a hundred people in the densely 
populated areas near the dump, injured more than 500 and temporarily 
displaced tens of thousands of people. About a dozen schools were 
damaged or destroyed. The military has yet to report how many army 
personnel were killed in the blasts.

There were no reports of any ordnance exploding on impact, but weapons 
experts said the munitions littering the surrounding neighbourhoods 
constituted a threat if handled incorrectly.

Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza promised in a speech after the 
disaster that the weapons stored at the Malhazine facility would be 
moved to a more remote location, but military officials said this week 
that US$24 million would be needed to do so.

It was unclear how the funds would be raised, or when the move might 
take place. The Mozambique government is already trying to raise US$71 
million to assist recovery in areas devastated in February by floods and 
a cyclone.

Pressure is building on the government to take greater responsibility 
for the explosions. This week, victims of the blasts formed an interest 
group to press for reparations. The government has yet to clarify its 
policy on the matter, citing the need to collect more information about 
the damage.

A demonstration at the national assembly is planned on Saturday to 
demand the sacking of Minister of Defence Tobias Dai, the president's 
brother-in-law.

Some said Dai should have relocated the deteriorating weapons after an 
explosion at the Malhazine site in January resulted in three injuries. 
The military has long recognised the danger posed by the thousands of 
tonnes of aging weapons stored at its 17 munitions dumps nationwide. The 
facilities tend to be poorly maintained and poorly secured.

A report in Thursday's edition of Zambeze, a weekly newspaper, said 
military sources laid ultimate blame on the former commander of the 
Malhazine dump. Unnamed sources in the story said the former commander, 
Col Jossefa Machava, had defended her performance by saying she lacked 
the trucks or the fuel to carry out the job.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International              web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information          listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -