There are two initial aspects to this case, both covered in the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), which I authored: first, the transfer of weapons which may or may not have been illegal and, secondly, the age of the ammunition, lack of in-service proof and surveillance, and the inherently unsafe fuse by design. These final factors mean that, unless the contractors were formally trained in detail on the ammunition, duty of care had not taken place.
I have investigated ammunition accidents and explosions globally over the last 20 years, including explosive attacks on ships, commercial cases of ammunition being copied by another manufacturer for the International Court of Arbitration, terrorist explosive devices, and military ammunition accidents. I have served as an expert witness in the UK and have been a court expert for the International Court of Arbitration.
It would have been prudent to buy new munitions from a factory that still makes them, rather than import decrepit goods. I am an expert both on the trade of small arms and light weapons as well as the technical aspects of these weapons.
