A boy holds unexploded cluster bombs after jet shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in the al-Meyasar district of Aleppo, Feb. 21, 2013.(Photo Reuters)
Tue 03 October 2023:
The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has said Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a Russian village near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, damaging several houses, Reuters reported.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties in the shelling of the village of Klimovo, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the governor’s statement, which he made without providing visual evidence. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukraine has received cluster munitions from the United States, but it has pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.
Russian officials in Bryansk and other regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Kyiv of an indiscriminate shelling by Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukrainian Army rains cluster munitions on Russian infantry
Location and date unknown.
📹https://t.co/H8zWUtkBHH pic.twitter.com/FtLLGwPIHu— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) September 27, 2023
What are cluster munitions? Is using them a war crime?
Following the latest allegations levelled against Ukraine by Russia on the use of cluster munitions in civilian areas, questions arise about its propriety and if it is considered a war crime.
A cluster munition is a bomb that opens in the air and releases smaller “bomblets” across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to take out tanks and equipment, as well as troops, hitting multiple targets at the same time.
Ukraine had previously stated that it will only use the weapons to target Russian troops in the warzone. However, many of the front-line areas of the conflict are located near towns and villages that are populated by civilians.
Similarly, Russia was also accused by Ukraine of using the same weapons on Ukrainian civilians.
Proponents argue that Russia has already been using the controversial weapon in Ukraine and that the munitions the US will provide have a reduced dud rate, meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths.
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The bombs have been deployed in many recent conflicts, including where US forces were involved.
The US initially considered cluster bombs an integral part of its arsenal during the invasion of Afghanistan that began in 2001, according to HRW. The group estimated that the US-led coalition dropped more than 1,500 cluster bombs in Afghanistan during the first three years of the conflict.
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Syrian government troops often used cluster munitions – supplied by Russia – against opposition strongholds during the country’s civil war, frequently hitting civilian targets and infrastructure. And Israel used them in civilian areas in south Lebanon, including during the 1982 invasion.
HRW and the United Nations accused Israel of firing as many as four million cluster munitions into Lebanon during its monthlong war with Hezbollah in 2006. That left unexploded ordnance that threatens Lebanese civilians to this day.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has been criticised for its use of cluster bombs in the war with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels that has ravaged the southern Arabian country.
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Is using them a war crime?
The use of cluster bombs itself does not violate international law, but using them against civilians can be a violation. As in any strike, determining a war crime requires looking at whether the target was legitimate and if precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.
“The part of international law where this starts playing [a role], though, is indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians,” Human Rights Watch’s associate arms director Mark Hiznay told The Associated Press news agency. “So that’s not necessarily related to the weapons, but the way the weapons are used.”
A convention banning the use of cluster bombs has been joined by more than 120 countries, which agreed not to use, produce, transfer or stockpile the weapons and to clear them after they have been used. The US, Russia and Ukraine have not signed the agreement.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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