San Jose, Costa Rica The Minister of Interior, Police and Public Safety held a ceremony to mark the completion of the 2nd phase of the destruction of obsolete munitions. During the completed phase, over 300,000 munitions of various types and calibers were destroyed in 107 OB/OD operations.

Since March 2011, over 900,000 munitions have been destroyed which includes the phase 1 and phase 2 efforts. New munitions and weapons destruction projects are slated for Honduras and El Salvador in the near future.

Marseille, France A construction crew is lucky to be alive after their backhoe hit and pierced open a buried WWII era bomb. After the crew realized what they hit, they contacted the police to report the find. The police responded and cordoned off the area. A bomb disposal team was called in for support.

The bomb was identified as a WWII era 1-ton German bomb packed with close to 1,400 pounds of explosives. The bomb was reportedly buried by the Germans during the war as a booby trap to destroy the port. Due to the size of the bomb, several days of planning were necessary to coordinate the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people and to halt boat traffic in the port. During the planning phase, an exclusion zone was established and guarded.

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Yorkersgate, United Kingdom Construction workers refurbishing the Talbot Hotel uncovered a mortar item. The workers called the police who responded with technical support provided by the Royal Logistics Corps Bomb Disposal Unit from Catterick Garrison. The bomb disposal unit identified as the mortar as a WWII era German smoke round. The mortar was safely removed from the site for proper disposal.

Brazzaville, Republic of Congo A short-circuit is being blamed for a fire at a munitions depot that resulted in multiple explosions and mass causalities. The explosions scattered an unknown number of munitions including artillery shells and rockets into surrounding densely populated areas. At least 246 are confirmed dead with concerns that the death toll could rise as firefighters and emergency responders comb through the massive debris field.

Over 1,300 injuries have been reported as well as 500 newly homeless as the explosions ripped through nearby homes. Concerns over unexploded munition kick-outs in the area have hampered response actions.

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