Winamp & Shoutcast Forums - Soldier threatens to blow up depot

Sunday, December 5, 2004 Posted: 8:11 AM EST (1311 GMT)

Quote:

PARIS, France (CNN) -- A French soldier barricaded himself inside an explosives depot Sunday, threatening to blow up the building and forcing the evacuation of about 400 people in nearby villages, authorities said.

Negotiations are under way to resolve the situation, the local mayor, Dominique Dubois, said.

About 40 residents of Connantray-Vaurefroy, Normee and Lenharree were evacuated to a nearby gymnasium, said Jean-Luc Guillemoto, spokesman for the local authority in the Marne district. The others are staying with family or friends.

The villages are near Chalons-en-Champagne, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Paris.

The soldier, 47, works at the base, where he is a low-level military officer, according to Dubois, who also said that the soldier had recently been asked to leave the army.

Dubois said the soldier is familiar with explosives. The depot contains about 62 tons of anti-tank explosive hardware, but no one lives on the site. It was once a U.S. base, he said, but is now French.

Authorities were unsure why the soldier made the threats.