The 2007 Maputo arms depot explosion occurred in the afternoon of Thursday March 22, 2007 in Maputo

Maputo

Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

, capital city of Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. It was reported that 93 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured, in a series of explosions that lasted from shortly before 16:00 to 18:30.

Background

The arms depot was constructed by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in 1984. The building housed Soviet-manufactured weapons used during the Mozambican Civil War

Mozambican Civil War

The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...

. The building is in a residential neighborhood, near the international airport

Maputo International Airport

Maputo International Airport , also known as Lourenço Marques Airport, is an airport located northwest of the center of Maputo, the largest city and capital of Mozambique. It is the largest airport in Mozambique, and hub for LAM Mozambique Airlines and Kaya Airlines...

. An earlier explosion at the same location in 1984 killed 12 people.

In addition, a heat wave had been affecting the area for much of the summer, with temperatures around 35 °C (93 °F) being reported. The same heat wave was blamed for a much smaller explosion at the depot on January 28, 2007.

Casualties and damage

Health Minister Ivo Garrido said on March 23 that 93 fatalities were reported and that more than 300 people were injured. Most of the casualties were either soldiers working at the depot or residents of the poor neighborhood surrounding the building. As a result, the government announced three days of national mourning and declared that flags be flown at half staff.

The Interior Ministry ordered police to seal off the area to prevent looting of homes in the area abandoned after the explosion.

The immediate area around the depot was bombarded in falling missiles and bombs, which caused most of the casualties and damage. In other parts of the city, buildings shook and windows broke.

Reaction

The Interior Ministry ordered police and firefighters to aid the military in destroying the remaining munitions and matériel at the depot, which has not been used since the country's civil war and is considered obsolete.

Maputo International Airport

Maputo International Airport

Maputo International Airport , also known as Lourenço Marques Airport, is an airport located northwest of the center of Maputo, the largest city and capital of Mozambique. It is the largest airport in Mozambique, and hub for LAM Mozambique Airlines and Kaya Airlines...

, which was close to the depot, was closed after the explosion and reopened the next day.

Public outrage was voiced following the incident. Residents of the city complained that the government should have dismantled the depot years ago, as it was in the middle of a residential neighborhood, near to the city's airport, and filled with obsolete weapons.

External links

• Dozens dead in Mozambique blasts (BBC News)
• Residents flee armoury blasts (News24)