Tanzania army to destroy weapons

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/8037378.stm

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Tanzania's army is to carry out controlled explosions at an ammunition depot near the city of Dar es Salaam.

It follows a series of accidental blasts at the armoury last week that killed more than 20 people.

Tanzanian Defence Minister Hussein Mwinyi told the BBC military experts had advised that Mbagalla base's remaining munitions be destroyed.

He said people had been warned to keep 500 metres away from the camp from 1500 to 1700 local time (1200-1400 GMT).

"The explosions are going to be controlled and there's no need to worry," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

The government has set up an inquiry to investigate what caused the accident, he said.

The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Dar es Salaam says last week's blasts injured hundreds of people and made thousands homeless.

The armoury next to the army camp, which lies 14km (nine miles) outside the city centre, contains munitions used in military operations for the African Union.

Other army depots have blown up in Africa in recent years.

In March 2007, an explosion on the outskirts of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, killed more than 90 people and more than 400 were injured.

And in January 2002 an ammunition dump in Lagos blew up, sending mortars crashing down on Nigeria's economic capital, and leaving more than 1,000 dead.