ROME -- A further 500 troops will be sent to the central-Italian earthquake zone to guard the houses of the evacuees in order to prevent looting, as happened in the aftermath of the Aug. 24 quake, Italian defence minister Roberta Pinotti said Wednesday.

 “Whoever joins the armed forces swears loyalty to their nation, their duty lies with the Italian people. The expenditure for the armed forces do not just go towards defence but also towards giving security to citizens,” said Pinotti to Il Messaggero newspaper.

 The defence minister said that “the armed forces work in perfect harmony with the civil protection service, who coordinate the interventions step by step. Further to the 1,237 troops already on the scene, we are ready to send over another 500 to preside over the earthquake-wrecked zones and to prevent the acts of looting.”

 “Up until now we have mostly been working for the security of the area and the buildings, as well as distributing food, items of comfort, sanitary interventions, and carrying out air patrols. We have just set into action three kitchens on the field, capable of 500 rations each, to give warm meals to those who have decided to stay in the villages.”

 Meanwhile in Rome, schools have reopened after precautionary closures on Monday -- however some parents have protested claiming that some of the inspections were carried out by Five Star Movement councillors instead of by specialized technicians.

 Mazzini bridge has reopened, but only to cars and not to pedestrians due to worry over the pavements on either side of the bridge.

 The quake also caused damage to the big Vatican lamp posts in the via della Conciliazione leading to St Peter's Square.

 nkd