Ukraine: More Civilians Killed in Cluster Munition Attacks | WPN World People News

Government and Russia-backed rebel forces repeatedly used cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine in January and February 2015, killing at least 13 civilians, including at least two children, Human Rights Watch said on 19 March, 2015. The use of cluster munitions in populated areas violates the laws of war due to the weapon’s indiscriminate nature and may constitute a war crime.

Submunitions that failed to explode during a cluster munition attack on Stakhanov on January 23.

“Using cluster munitions shows utter disregard for civilians,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Neither side should use these widely banned weapons; they affect a large area, endangering nearby civilians, and unexploded submunitions pose a risk to civilians long after the attack.”

Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of smaller munitions, called submunitions, in a container such as a rocket or a bomb. After launch, the container opens up, dispersing the submunitions, which are designed to explode when they hit the ground. The submunitions are spread indiscriminately over a wide area, often the size of a football field, putting anyone in the area at the time of attack, whether combatants or civilians, at risk of death or injury.

In addition, many of the submunitions do not explode on impact, but remain armed, becoming de facto landmines. Any location contaminated with dud submunitions remains hazardous until cleared by qualified personnel.

During a 10-day investigation in eastern Ukraine, Human Rights Watch found evidence of attacks using cluster munition rockets in at least seven villages, towns, and cities between January 23 and February 12, with some locations hit multiple times. Human Rights Watch investigated the seven populated areas, three in government-controlled territory, and four in rebel-held territory. The weapons used were surface-fired 300 millimeter Smerch (Tornado) and 220 millimeter Uragan (Hurricane) cluster munition rockets, which deliver 9N210 or 9N235 antipersonnel fragmentation submunitions. Human Rights Watch gathered information, including photos of remnants, about cluster munition rocket attacks in other locations as well.

Forces in rebel-held areas most likely launched the cluster munition attacks that struck government-controlled areas, and Ukrainian government forces most likely launched the cluster munition attacks that struck rebel-held areas, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch drew this conclusion based on an assessment of the impact location, including whether there were military targets in the vicinity, the direction of the attack, and the minimum and maximum ranges of the weapons used. For two attacks that hit rebel-controlled places, one in the city of Luhansk and another in Stakhanov, the direction and minimum range of the rockets used exclude the possibility that forces in rebel-controlled territory launched the cluster munitions.

Human Rights Watch was able to identify the use of cluster munition rockets by observing the distinctive impact crater and fragmentation pattern that their submunitions create when they explode and by examining remnants of the submunitions found at the impact sites and by the remnants of the rockets found in the vicinity.

To determine the direction of the attacks, Human Rights Watch examined rocket remnants, including the cargo, rocket motor, and tail sections of cluster munition rockets. In most cases, the tail sections were stuck in the ground, indicating the direction from which the rockets came. Human Rights Watch also analyzed craters and damage to buildings. In the cases Human Rights Watch investigated, the tail section also appeared to fly further than the submunitions, providing additional indication of the rocket’s direction.

In three places Human Rights Watch documented that Uragan unguided high-explosive fragmentation (HE-Frag) rockets struck at the same time as cluster munition rockets. In at least two places, these HE-Frag rockets killed civilians. Human Rights Watch documented and condemned the use of unguided rockets in populated areas in July 2014 and January 2015.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented the use of cluster munitions in eastern Ukraine. Though Ukrainian authorities have taken some steps to investigate findings of an October 2014 Human Rights Watch report, the investigation has been inadequate and more needs to be done, Human Rights Watch said.

Both Ukrainian and Russian authorities have condemned cluster munition use in populated areas. Human Rights Watch believes that cluster munitions should never be used, even outside of populated areas, because of the risk of harming civilians.

Human Rights Watch calls on Ukraine and Russia to join the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibiting the use of cluster munitions in any circumstance. A total of 116 nations are party to the treaty, which also requires clearance of cluster munition remnants and assistance to victims of the weapons.

Ukrainian authorities should immediately stop using cluster munitions, and Russia should under no circumstances provide cluster munitions to rebel forces and use its influence over the forces in Ukraine to end the use of cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said. Both should investigate and hold accountable any personnel responsible for firing cluster munitions into populated areas, Human Rights Watch said.

“Both Ukrainian and Russian authorities seem to agree that it is unacceptable to use this weapon in populated areas,” Solvang said. “Their actions need to match their rhetoric.”

Source: Human Rights Watch