Army ammunition goes missing (again)

Keystone

The Swiss army has lost track of several hundred pieces of ammunition at a military site in canton Zurich, according to a spokesperson. It is the second such incident this year, after explosives went missing in September. 

Some 300 to 500 cartridges for assault rifles have been missing from army barracks in Kloten since last week. An investigation is underway to determine whether the unaccounted-for ammunition has been lost or stolen or is the result of an accounting error, said army spokesman Tobias Kühne. 

“The investigation will examine all possibilities,” he said, adding that munitions do go missing from time to time. However, he said that incidents involving missing explosives, such as the situation in September in the city of Aarau, are more rare. Kühne said there had been no further developments in that investigation, which remains unsolved. 

In the past, the Swiss military has had other incidents where it struggled to keep track of its weapons. 

Three years ago, the Swiss armed forces acknowledged it was still having trouble locating thousands of rifles and pistols issued to soldiers who had completed their compulsory service between 2006 and 2011. 

Keeping military firearms at home is a long-standing tradition for the Swiss army, which is supposed to be ready for a call to arms in times of crisis. 

However, most active members are not allowed to store ammunition, since a ban on the practice was agreed by parliament in December 2008. Ammunition is now mainly stored in central arsenals. 

Army-issue weapons have been involved in hundreds of suicides and in a number of high-profile shootings in Switzerland in recent years.