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Amnesty International
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Iraq: Civilians Under Fire
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April 9 - Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the
mounting toll of civilian casualties in Iraq and the reported
use of cluster bombs by US forces in heavily populated areas.
Despite repeated assurances from US and UK authorities that they
would do everything possible to protect the Iraqi people, since
20 March hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed. Some
have been victims of cluster bombs; some have died in attacks
in disputed circumstances. The attacks in the vicinity of civilian
targets continue and are likely to escalate as fighting moves
into Baghdad.
"We urge all
the warring parties to make the safety of the Iraqi civilians
a top priority," Amnesty International said.
"The attack
at al-Hilla's hospital on 1 April was an example of indiscriminate
killing of civilians and a grave violation of international humanitarian
law," Amnesty International emphasized.
The bodies
of the men, women and children -- both dead and alive -- brought
to the hospital were punctured with shards of shrapnel from cluster
bombs. Two lorry-loads of dead civilians, including women in flowered
dresses, were seen outside the hospital.
Injured survivors
reported how the explosives fell "like grapes" from the sky, and
how bomblets bounced through the windows and doors of their homes
before exploding.
Both Amnesty
International and Landmine Action, a UK-based non-governmental
organization, have confirmed that pictures from al-Hilla show
unexploded BLU97 -- a cluster submunition, and that this is the
same air-dropped weapon that caused severe humanitarian problems
in Afghanistan and Kosovo in the past.
"The devastating
consequences of using cluster bombs in civilian areas are utterly
predictable. If, as accounts suggest, US forces dropped cluster
bombs in residential areas of al-Hilla, even if they were directed
at military targets, this would be a grave breach of international
humanitarian law," Amnesty International said. "An independent
and thorough investigation must be held and those found responsible
for any violations of the laws of war should be brought to justice.
The US and UK authorities should order an immediate halt to the
further use of cluster bombs. "
Iraqi civilians
have also been placed at greater risk of being killed or injured
by US and UK forces as a result of tactics used by the Iraqi military
that violate international humanitarian law, such as perfidious
attacks. Amnesty International is also concerned about reports
that Iraq has been locating military forces and weaponry in close
proximity to civilians in order to shield them from attack.
"International
humanitarian law requires both defenders and attackers to take
measures necessary to protect civilians," the organization said.
"All parties
to the conflict in Iraq have a responsibility to ensure that the
humanitarian needs of the civilian population are fully met. We
call on all parties to the conflict to facilitate access and the
operations of humanitarian organizations, without delay," Amnesty
International continued.
Amnesty International
calls for: - an immediate moratorium on the use of cluster bombs
by US/UK forces and on other inherently indiscriminate weapons;
- an immediate end to unlawful tactics by Iraqi forces that endanger
civilians; - prompt and impartial investigations into civilian
deaths, and the use of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding
Commission to investigate incidents of alleged serious violations
of international humanitarian law.
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