Cluster bombs, first used by the German Nazis in World War II, are munitions designed to release clusters of multiple bomblets indiscriminately and are used specifically to target personell and armored vehicles. In addition to being completely indiscriminate, approximately 5 percent of the bomblets released by cluster bombs fail to detonate on initial impact, and, according to BBC as well as the Los Angeles Times, official dud rate estimates as high as 40% have been documented by the UN's mine disposal agency as recently as September 2006. These unexploded bomblets form instant mine fields in the areas where they are deployed, such as those which currently plague the country of Lebanon, which is still in the critical stages of recovering from its latest war with Israel. Experts estimate that between 450,000 and 1 million American-made cluster bomblets left by Israel remained unexploded after the Israeli war on Lebanon in July that was launched as a response by Israel to the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers by Hizbollah. These bomblets have been killing and injuring civilians who inadvertantly detonate the ordinances when they step on them or touch them. The unexploded ordinances have proved particularly deadly for curious children who pick up or kick the bomblets unsuspectingly, instantly detonating them in the process. These horrific encounters with unexploded cluster bomblets have been occurring on a daily basis in Lebanon, particularly in the south. In a recent report Landmine Action director Simon Conway stated:
"Every day women and children are killed or injured as they sift through the rubble of their former homes by cluster munitions that failed to go off. If they were any other kind of product, they would have been recalled."
The cluster bomblets left by Israel have also been particularly catastrophic for Lebanese farmers, who have risked their lives on a daily basis to salvage what little crops managed to survive the month long Israel-Hezbollah war, with little success and many deaths and injuries. Agricultural losses in Lebanon are expected to increase with the ripening of late harvest season crops such as olives. According to a report released by the Landmine Action group, these crops "will remain too dangerous to harvest by November and winter crops will be lost because farmers will be unable to plough their grains and vegetables."
The Foreign Office of the UK has stated:
"The UK believes existing humanitarian law is sufficient for the conduct of military operations, including the use of cluster munitions, and no treaty is required. The UK remains committed to improving the reliability of all munitions with the aim of achieving lower failure rates and leaving few unexploded ordinances in order to minimise the humanitarian risk."
-Travis
Quick facts about cluster bombs:
· Cluster bombs are usually dropped from medium to high altitudes and consist of dozens of bomblets in an outer casing.
· They have anti-armour and 'anti-personnel' capabilities
· They are 'indiscriminate' and do not have precision guidance.
· With a 5% average dud rate, and documented single case dud rates reaching 40%, unexploded cluster bombs become instant landmines.
· According to Human Rights Watch, NATO aircraft dropped nearly 2,000 cluster bombs during its miltary campaign in the former Yugoslavia in 1999
· Human Rights Watch also estimates that 1,600 Kuwaiti and Iraqi civilians were killed by the estimated 1.2 million unexploded cluster munitions left after the 1991 Persian Gulf War
· An estimated 90% of the cluster bombs dropped on Lebanon by Israel were deployed within the final 72 hours of the month long Israel-Hezbollah war, shortly after the ceasefire date had been agreed upon.
Link to the story below.
UK refuses to back cluster bomb ban as extent of use in Lebanon revealed (Guardian Unlimited)
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