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Norway: Secret Russian weapons stash found near border
Russian border guards reportedly found a weapon depot this week that even they didn't know about, on Russia's side of its northern border to Norway.The depot contained two "Osa" type missiles and a 76mm bomb at the site near Liinakhamary, just three kilometers (less than two miles) from the Russian-Norwegian border. Electronic detonators were also said to have been found at the site. The weapons, according to BarentsObserver.coms version of a Russian report on Russian web site Newsru.com,were found on Tuesday and were destroyed by the Federal Security service of the Russian Federation (FSB). The FSB is responsible for internal security within Russia, including border security. FSB officials in Murmansk told Newsru.com that they did not know why the missiles were on the site or who put them there. An investigation was underway. The Osa guided missiles have been produced since the early 1960s. A Norwegian military spokesman said the missiles probably came from a naval base in the area that was shut down a few years ago. "This is really a maritime weapon, probably used on several of their vessels at the naval base," said Kjetil Eide of the military. Others at the military research institute FFI criticized the apparent lack of control over weapons, especially near the border. "Missiles shouldn't just be left lying around" said Jan Erik Torp told Aftenposten.no, but he added that the discovery wasn't all that dramatic. "This is probably old equipment, and unusable," Torp said. He said the OSA missile found had a range of only 15 kilometers and was "very ordinary." BarentsObserver.com describes itself as "an open Internet news service," offering daily updated news from and about the Barents Region. The project is run by the Norwegian Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes, which long has been affiliated with the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and has invested nearly NOK 350 million in the region since 1993, through more than 3,000 grants and cooperating programs. The Barents Secretariat is now run by the Norwegian counties of Finnmark, Troms and Nordland. Posted by: mrp 2008-07-04 |
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