Albania completes destruction of pre-NATO ammunition – military

Albania’s army has finished destroying tons of ammunition and thousands of weapons that were rendered obsolete when Albania joined NATO, its defense minister said Friday. The last rounds of ammunition were destroyed at plants in central Albania, according to Olta Xhacka. The process that started eight years ago is expected to be wrapped up by year’s end when some 600,000 detonating capsules are demolished. Albania joined NATO in 2009 and has replaced its old Kalashnikov automatic rifles with NATO-standard weaponry, AP reported. As part of the switch, some 26,000 tons of Soviet- and Chinese-made ammunition and more than 100,000 small weapons were destroyed.