November 26, 1999

UN paid deminers took a break from the usual mine clearing to destroy 455 items in a Herat museum. Originally set up by the provincial governor to inform people what various types of explosives looked like, it was stocked with live munitions. These included several thousand pound bombs. A residential neighborhood grew up around the museum and the locals began to get nervous about what would happen if the museum had a fire or some other accident with any of its many exhibits.