By Elizabeth Georgiou
A cloud of uncertainty hangs over Cyprus’s National Guard after 13.6 kilograms of TNT disappeared during a routine training exercise at the Kalo Chorio firing range last Thursday, exposing potential gaps in security protocols and raising the possibility of human error or worse.
The incident took place during a training drill by the 20th Engineer Battalion focused on the controlled detonation of explosives. In this case, only the explosives were used, not live ammunition. They were placed at designated points and triggered—but nothing exploded. Standard safety protocols required participants to wait roughly an hour before returning to the site, and from that moment, critical questions emerged.
Unanswered Questions
Officials still don’t know whether the explosive sites were visually monitored during the waiting period, whether safety protocols allow a range to remain unattended when active explosives are present, or how easily a third party could have accessed and removed the materials unnoticed. It’s also unclear if an accurate inventory was conducted before and after the exercise and exactly when the loss was discovered. The leading theory currently under investigation is theft.
Authorities are treating the possibility of a premeditated theft with the utmost seriousness, as it raises concerns about internal security. If insiders were involved, someone would have had to know that the explosives wouldn’t detonate or even contributed to that outcome to make them accessible to outsiders. Officials say this scenario, if true, is deeply troubling, given the potential dangers of explosives falling into the wrong hands.
Investigation Underway
The Larnaca Criminal Investigation Department (TAE) is working alongside the National Guard, collecting statements from all participants to reconstruct the timeline and determine whether theft was possible and how it might have occurred. Police have also alerted known scrap metal points to watch for suspicious material.
Defense Minister Vassilis Palmas expressed his strong displeasure, calling the incident “unacceptable” and admitting it exposes the service. Speaking on ANT1, he said no resignations are currently being considered, but anyone found negligent or failing to follow proper procedures will face consequences. Palmas stressed that 13.6 kilograms of TNT is a significant quantity capable of causing serious damage and that the explosives involved require careful processing before they can be used.
From within the National Guard, Brigadier Alkis Alkiviadis has been appointed to lead an internal inquiry, with strict instructions to deliver a clarifying report as quickly as possible. All personnel present at the range are being questioned, and Palmas hopes the combined investigations by the Guard and police will soon provide answers.
For now, questions linger, highlighting serious gaps in protocol and raising urgent concerns about responsibility and accountability in handling explosives.
