TIRANA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A 75 mm cannon shell, suspected from the army depots during the 1997 civil unrest in Albania, was found and detonated by the Armed Forces in southwestern Albania, Albanian Defense Minister Olta Xhacka said Tuesday.
Xhacka said via Facebook that the cannon shell was found close to a main road in Kanina village in Vlora region.
Xhacka underlined that the specialists from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) of the Albanian Armed Forces had to detonate the shell on the site as it was considered dangerous to transport.
"The Armed Forces eliminated a real danger for the residents of Kanina in Vlora. A 75 mm cannon shell from 1997 was found only 10 meters far from the main road," Xhacka said.
The opening of Armed Forces depots in the country during the civil unrest in Albania in 1997 significantly increased the number of weapons, ammunition and explosives in the hands of citizens.
According to Albanian government estimates, about 325,000 weapons in the country are still in the hands of the citizens and around 40 percent of the weapons remain uncollected.
