US Govt to introduce 'safer' cluster bombs
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
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The US Government has announced plans to introduce "safer" cluster bombs.
At the moment, many of the bomblets contained in these controversial munitions fail to explode on impact and are left behind to claim civilian lives long after hostilities have ended.
A new US policy will now require that, from 2018, more than 99% of the bomblets must detonate on impact.
The Irish Government recently led a push to introduce an international ban on cluster bombs, with 109 countries signing up to the move at a recent conference in Dublin.
Major manufacturers and users of cluster bombs - including the US, Russia and China - refused to sign the treaty.
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