Moroccan forces used cluster munitions against non-state armed groups.ĭuring Israel’s invasion, Tel Aviv used cluster munitions in southern Lebanon. US forces targeted Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam with cluster munitions during the Cold War.Īccording to a monitor, the US dropped 413,130 tonnes of cluster munitions over Vietnam between 19.Ĭiting authorities, the Red Cross reported that Laos is contaminated by about 80 million cluster submunitions, affecting all 17 provinces and resulting in 300 yearly casualties. Germany released 1,000 butterfly bombs on Grimsby, a port city in northeast England.
Soviet forces dropped cluster munitions on German forces in Kursk, western Russia. Here is a timeline of the use of the weapons throughout history: Paul Hannon, of the Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), said the US move will “contribute to the terrible casualties being suffered by Ukrainian civilians both immediately and for years to come”.Ĭluster munitions typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area but have a high failure rate leaving those that fail to explode to pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends. Civil defence members safely detonate cluster bombs in the rebel-held area in Deraa, Syria More than 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, have signed an accord under the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the production, stockpiling, use and transfer of cluster bombs. US President Joe Biden defended his decision as difficult but necessary, saying Ukraine needed them and has assured Washington that the bombs would not be used to target territory in Russia. On Friday, Washington confirmed it would supply Kyiv with the widely condemned bombs as part of a new $800m security package.
Several countries have announced they will not send Ukraine cluster munitions following the United States’ decision to send the controversial weapons to the front line.