Cluster bombs recently used in Libya conflict: HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says there is “credible” evidence that banned cluster bombs have been used during the conflict in Libya over the past four months, as the security situation further deteriorates in the conflict-ridden North African country.

“There is credible evidence of the use of banned cluster bombs in at least two locations in Libya since December 2014,” the New York-based international non-governmental organization said in a statement released on Sunday.

It said the remnants of RBK-250 PTAB 2.5M cluster bombs were found in the town of Bin Jawad, located 650 kilometers (400 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli, in February and in the city of Sirte, situated 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Tripoli, in March.

“The good condition of the paint on the bomb casings and lack of extensive weathering indicated that the remnants had not been exposed to the environment for long and were from a recent attack,” the organization said.

“It is not possible to determine responsibility on the basis of available evidence,” HRW said, however.

It also called on Libyan authorities to join the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use of cluster munitions in any circumstances.

“The use of cluster munitions in populated areas, such as Sirte, violates the laws of war due to the indiscriminate nature of the weapon,” the arms director at Human Rights Watch and chair of the Cluster Munitions Coalition, Steve Goose, said.

“The new evidence of cluster munitions use in Libya is highly disturbing,” he said, adding, “Most nations have banned these weapons due to their inherently indiscriminate nature and the unacceptable harm they pose to civilians.”

“The internationally recognized government in Libya and parties to the conflict should urgently secure and destroy any stocks of cluster munitions,” Goose said.

Libya has two rival governments vying for control of the country, with one faction controlling Tripoli, and the other, Libya’s internationally recognized government, governing the cities of Bayda and Tobruk.

The government and elected parliament moved to the eastern city of Tobruk after an armed group based in the northwestern city of Misrata seized Tripoli and most government institutions in August 2014.

The Libyan army, meanwhile, has said that it does not have cluster bombs.

“While the air strikes continue every day against militias, the Libyan army has access to only traditional, heavy munitions, such as what was used during the Second World War,” Libyan air force chief, Brigadier General Sagr al-Jerouchi, said, adding, “We have no cluster munitions.”

Libya plunged into chaos after the ouster of longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, which gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions. Three years on, the country is still struggling with insecurity.

The oil-rich nation has been the scene of numerous clashes between government forces and rival militant groups that refuse to lay down arms.

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