Ukraine rejects claims of banned cluster bomb use

KIEV: Ukraine’s armed forces on Tuesday rejected allegations that they indiscriminately used banned “cluster bombs” in the six-month war against pro-Russian insurgents in the separatist east.
Human Rights Watch on Monday published a detailed investigation carried out jointly with The New York Times that identified 12 incidents in which these weapons killed six people — including a Swiss aid worker — in and around the rebel-held city of Donetsk earlier this month.
The global rights group said there appeared to be “widespread” use of these weapons which are highly inaccurate as they are sprayed across a wide area.
The report supported claims made throughout the conflict by Russia that Ukraine’s pro-Western government had been violating human rights and killing innocent civilians through indiscriminate use of force.
“It is shocking to see a weapon that most countries have banned used so extensively in eastern Ukraine,” said Human Rights Watch researchers Mark Hiznay.
The report said one of the cluster bomb attacks was responsible for killing a Swiss International Committee of the Red Cross worker in Donetsk on Oct. 2.
Human Rights Watch urged Ukrainian forces to “immediately make a commitment not to use cluster munitions” and for the government to “accede to the treaty banning their use.”
The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions banning their use has been signed by 113 parties but not Ukraine or the United States.
Cluster munitions contain dozens or even hundreds of smaller explosives that are carried by bombs or rockets.
Human Rights Watch said these smaller explosives “are spread indiscriminately over a wide area, often the size of a football field, putting anyone in the area at the time of attack.”
Two top Ukrainian military officials denied using such weapons when contacted by AFP.