Palmas says he will act with severity after prohibited summer detonation
Cyprus Defense Minister Vassilis Palmas on Monday ordered an investigation after National Guard engineers detonated discarded rocket-propelled grenade projectiles at the Kalo Chorio firing range on the island’s southern coast, igniting a brush fire that spread quickly.
The engineers destroyed a half dozen RPG projectiles, Palmas said.
Palmas, speaking to reporters, voiced “intense dissatisfaction and strong irritation” that the destruction occurred in the middle of the summer fire season. He said he ordered the probe to determine why the rounds were detonated “under these conditions of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) even as such explosions of heavy weaponry during the summer months are prohibited.”
“You understand that I will act with all the severity that is provided for under such circumstances,” Palmas told reporters.
The detonation violated standing regulations that prohibit explosions of heavy weaponry during the summer months because of extreme fire risk, Palmas said.