Cluster munition coalition

27 November 2012

Further outrage as children are latest victims of Syria cluster bomb attacks

A screenshot from an unverified video posted by opposition activists purportedly showing cluster bombs in Deir al-Asafir (London, 27 November 2012): Use of cluster munitions by Syrian Armed Forces may have caused the deaths of at least 11 children and wounded others playing near their homes outside Damascus. This follows confirmed use of cluster munitions by Assad’s forces in recent months. The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is calling on the Syrian government to stop immediately all use of these banned weapons, and is pressing all other states to condemn this outrage.Sarah Blakemore, Director of the CMC, said, "These attacks leading to so many children’s deaths mark a new low for the Syrian government. The indiscriminate nature of this weapon is exactly why it is banned by the majority of the world. Other governments must condemn Syria’s use of cluster munitions and call for a complete halt in use of the weapon."CMC member organisation Human Rights Watch has confirmed that the remnants according to video footage include at least two RBK-250/275 cluster bombs and dozens of their AO1-SCH submunitions which failed to explode. The destructive footprint of this type of cluster bomb is 4,800 square meters.The CMC reiterates its call for all countries to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and to end for all time the unacceptable harm to innocent civilians caused by cluster bombs. Cluster munitions have a devastating impact, both at the time of use and for years after a conflict ends. More than half the world has joined the global ban on cluster munitions, which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of the weapon."The use of cluster munitions is never acceptable, and their use in populated areas is even more outrageous given the clear risk to civilians. This tragedy further underlines the need for all production, trade and use of cluster bombs to end now," said Blakemore.

  • States that have condemned Syria’s use of cluster munitions: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Switzerland,the United Kingdom and the United States. Japan has also condemned use without naming Syria.
  • Access Human Rights Watch 27.10.12 media release which confirms casualties from Syria’s cluster munition strikes.
  • View the videos posted to YouTube showing the aftermath of the incident [WARNING contains graphic footage] and purportedly showing the remnants of cluster munitions in Deir al-Asafir.
  • Read the CMC’s response to previous allegations that cluster bombs had been used in Syria.
  • Visit another section of the CMC’s website for details global cluster bomb problem, the ban on the weapon, and what cluster bombs are.

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