Army chief Pavel pays unannounced visit to soldiers guarding munitions store

The chief of staff of the Czech army Petr Pavel paid an unannounced visit on Thursday to soldiers guarding a munitions depot in Eastern Moravia that has seen explosions over a two-month period. The military chief toured the site at the village of Vrbětice and spoke to some of the 200 soldiers patrolling it. General Pavel, who is set to take a senior NATO post next summer, reiterated his opposition to the government's deployment of the troops to guard the munitions store.

Author: Ian Willoughby