Britain bans 'dumb' cluster bombs

Britain bans 'dumb' cluster bombs

news.bbc.co.uk

The weapons, known as "dumb" cluster bombs, will be withdrawn immediately and destroyed, said Mr Browne.

He said the move meant the UK was the first world power to abandon their use.

But campaigners called on the government to scrap all cluster bombs, including so-called "smart" ones which have the capacity to self destruct.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says smart cluster bombs are legitimate weapons with significant military value.

Cluster bombs are shot from artillery or rocket ground systems or dropped from aircraft and disperse hundreds of smaller munitions, known as bomblets.

Unexploded bomblets can lie dormant for years until they are disturbed.

In February, at a conference in Norway, the UK, which has used cluster bombs in Kosovo and Iraq, joined 45 other nations in pledging to ban cluster bombs by 2008.

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[edit on 20-3-2007 by bodrul]

The United Kindom has become the first world power to abandon these weapons.
they will still use smart cluster bombs but its a start with destroying these ones and taking them out of action for good

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 20-3-2007 by bodrul]

A definate step in the right direction in my opinion, and a great example of how public concern and moral indignation can promote change within Government circles.

Kudos to the Brits!

Does this mean they're no longer using landmines as well?

Some trivia... Princess Diana was championing that cause prior to her death, and the anti-landmine HQ in Afghanistan got bombed iirc.