Published on 12:00 AM, September 02, 2016

Russia accused of using cluster bombs in Syria

Syrians fleeing from the town of Souran, in northern Hama, drive past burning vehicles yesterday, after fighters from the Jund al-Aqsa Islamist Brigade took control of the town from Syrian government forces. A coalition of rebels and jihadists quickly advanced this week in the province of Hama, in central Syria, which is largely controlled by the regime forces, and has captured a number of towns, according reports. Photo: AFP
Afp, Geneva

Evidence is growing that Russia is behind a significant increase in the use of cluster bombs in Syria, campaigners said yesterday.

A coalition of NGOs led by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in an annual study that more than 400 people were killed or maimed by the banned munitions in the world last year.

They linked the increased use of cluster bombs in Syria to Russian forces who are carrying out air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"Since Russia began its joint operation with Syrian forces at the end last September, we have seen an increase in the number of cluster munition attacks on opposition-held areas," Mary Warenham, HRW's arms advocacy director and editor of the report, told a press conference.

Russia has repeatedly denied using cluster bombs, which spray bomblets indiscriminately. HRW admitted it was difficult to determine whether it was specifically Russian or Syrian forces which had used the bombs.

A total of 248 people were killed or injured by the munitions in Syria last year, almost all civilians, the Cluster Munition Monitor report said.

The bombs also killed or maimed 104 people in Yemen in 2015. Saudi Arabia has denied using cluster munitions against civilian targets.

The study provides an overview of how countries are implementing a landmark 2008 convention which bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons.

Syria and Russia are not among the 100 signatories of the convention, but HRW says they remain bound by international law, which bans the indiscriminate attacks that are the hallmark of cluster bombings.

On the ground, Syrian opposition fighters have seized several areas in a rapid advance against government forces in central Hama province, prompting a wave of regime air strikes, a monitor yesterday.

At least 25 civilians, including children, were killed in the strikes early yesterday as fighting raged in parts of Hama.

Hama province is of vital strategic importance to President Bashar al-Assad, separating opposition forces in Idlib from Damascus to the south and the regime's coastal heartlands to the west.

Top Stories