Army chief of staff sacked

TIRANA, June 16 – Albanian President Bamir Topi on Monday sacked the country’s army chief-of staff, Lt. Gen. Luan Hoxha, in connection with the March 15 blast in Gerdec which killed 26 persons and injured 302 others.
Lt. Gen. Luan Hoxha was removed from his post following a recommendation from Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
The March 15 blast was at a primitive arms disposal factory at a former military unit in Gerdec on Tirana’s outskirts. The explosion of thousands of tons of decades-old ordnance turned the compound into a 100-metre wide crater. Shrapnel fell over 40 square kilometers, destroying or damaging some 5,500 homes.
Former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu has insisted that the army was to blame for choosing Gerdec as the disposal site and for not taking proper precautions.
There has been no conclusion from the ongoing investigation, but Prime Minister Sali Berisha has said the blasts were accidentally triggered during work to dispose of excess ammunition.
In a reaction after his losing his position, Gen. Hoxha said he had chosen not to speak about the blast “to let the proper institutions” reach their conclusions about the events.
A day later, Prosecutor General Ina Rama did not say whether Gen. Hoxha would be arrested or otherwise punished.
Topi has also sacked the commander of the military support unit at Gerdec, General Zija Bahja, while Mediu and another general, Shpetim Spahiu, resigned in the wake of the blast.
Two other high ranking generals were sacked a month ago following a recommendation by Defense Minister Gazmend Oketa.
About 100,000 tons of excess ammunition, mostly Russian and Chinese artillery shells made in the 1960s or earlier, are stored in former army depots across Albania.
The U.S., Canada and other NATO member countries have assisted Albania in disposing of them, a process which the executive has pledged to complete by 2010.
Three weeks after the March 15 blast, Albania received its NATO membership invitation and expects to become a full alliance member.