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Australian defence force chief says soliders have been firing off

The Acting Chief of the Defence Force says poor weapon handling is the reason for the high incidence of accidental weapon fire in East Timor.

Jo Prichard reports.

A parliamentary committee is asking defence officials about matters arising out of the recent annual report. There were 70 incidents in the first 22 weeks of the INTERFET operation where soldiers fired weapons without proper authorisation. There were another 48 incidents in the period of transition to government under the United Nations. Lieutenant General Des Mueller has rejected Opposition suggestions the soldiers are not being trained properly in live weapons handling or that accidental fire is due to the depletion of the ammunition stockpile. "We have not and will not commit sailors soldiers or airmen to operations whose training in any way has been diminished due to a lack of ammunition."

08/05/2002 16:26:34 | ABC Radio Australia News

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