PEQIN, March 24 – Hundreds of pupils of the Karina village elementary school in Peqin district were frightened when they discovered eight anti-tank shells discarded near their school building.
Officials said local farmers had found the shells while plowing their land.
Special army engineer units transported the shells to a nearby collection facility.
In Fier, children found a number of hand grenades hidden in a former military bunker in the city. After being alerted, police and army experts checked all bunkers in the area for any other explosives.
Some 100,000 tons of excess ammunition are stored in hundreds of army depots throughout the country. However, enormous quantities of armaments are also scattered throughout the country, much of having been taken from depots during the 1997 year of anarchy when people looted army barracks after they lost their life savings in failed pyramid investment schemes.
In Shijak, police recently discovered a number of shells. The anti-tank shells were found hidden in an abandoned house. Police have yet to arrest any person, though they know the identity of the owner of the house.
