CASE STUDY – KOSOVO
Background Cluster bombs were used in Kosovo by NATO against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from MarchJune 1999. It is estimated that NATO dropped more than 2000 cluster munitions containing more than 380,000 submunitions. The majority of cluster munitions were used against mobile field forces in Kosovo. Analysts have suggested that attacks on these targets had little impact at a strategic level: The delivery of 78,000 UK cluster bombs in the course of the Kosovo conflict “may have resulted in the destruction of as few as 30 major items of military equipment (tanks, AP carriers, artillery).” General Sir Hugh Beech, Institute of Strategic Studies Impact: Human Rights Watch has documented more than 300 civilian deaths and injuries during the bombing campaign. The reasons, as reported by NATO, for these incidents were inaccuracies in the delivery and the wide-area effects of the weapon. From June 1999-2005, 18,318 cluster bomblets were destroyed. On average, each bomblet took 18 hours for a deminer to clear. All known strike areas were cleared to international standards by 2002. However, bomblets continue to be found in areas not considered affected. This suggests that the failure rate of the bomblets was much higher than estimated or that more clusters were used than reported. Cluster munitions have caused at least 171 post-conflict casualties to date. More than half of these victims were children. Each incident involved the injury of more than one person. On average, there were 2 victims per incident. The most common activity associated with these incidents was passing or standing nearby. The impact of cluster munitions in Kosovo was reduced by one of the largest humanitarian clearance operations ever undertaken. Despite this, there are areas contaminated with clusters that still need to be cleared today – more than seven years after the conflict.
Content excerpted from: Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities. Published by Handicap International, May 2007. Cluster Munitions in Kosovo. Landmine Action, February 2007.