Investigators probe possible use of banned weapons

Watchdog says cluster shells are deployed on border
Daily Star
Jul. 26, 2006

SIDON/BEIRUT: The United Nations said Tuesday it was concerned about Israel's use of cluster bombs as part of its bombardment of Lebanon, as claims of attacks using phosphorous bombs and chemical weapons were under investigation by Lebanese authorities. "We have expressed our concern regarding the use of cluster munitions," Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson in New York, told The Daily Star.

A high-ranking official within the Lebanese Army told The Daily Star Monday the military was "warnings to citizens in the places bombed by Israel not to get near or touch suspicious bodies, which might be unexploded cluster bombs."

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the alleged cluster bombs had been dropped in an area unaccessible to the army, which made the initial reports hard to verify.

Israel's use of cluster bombs has been confirmed in several areas in the South, including the towns of Blida, Hebbariyeh and Kfarhamam, the official added.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also confirmed Israel's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon in a statement issued Monday that included photos from the Israeli side of the border that it said clearly showed the ordnance.

"Israel has used artillery-fired cluster munitions in populated areas of Lebanon ... Researchers on the ground in Lebanon confirmed that a cluster munitions attack on the village of Blida on July 19 killed one and wounded at least 12 civilians, including seven children. Human Rights Watch researchers also photographed cluster munitions in the arsenal of Israeli artillery teams on the Israel-Lebanon border," the statement said.

According to Kenneth Roth, the executive director of HRW, "cluster munitions are unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians ... They should never be used in populated areas."

According to eyewitnesses and survivors of the attack interviewed by HRW, "Israel fired several artillery-fired cluster munitions at Blida at around 3 p.m. on July 19. The witnesses described how the artillery shells dropped hundreds of cluster submunitions on the village. They clearly described the submunitions as smaller projectiles that emerged from larger shells."

Lebanese authorities are presently investigating reports that Israel has also used phosphorous munitions in its attacks.

Acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star his ministry is collaborating with experts to "conduct investigations into the matter," but said no concrete findings were available yet.

Health Minister Mohammad Khalifa also said his ministry has been conducting tests on samples from bomb sites reported to have been hit by phosphorous ordnance, but "so far, nothing has been made official."

Meanwhile, Mario Aoun, head of Lebanon's doctors' syndicate, told The Daily Star Tuesday that investigations were being conducted to determine the cause of death of eight Lebanese found in the Southern town of Rmeileh.

Aoun said the investigation had been launched Monday after several "suspicious" bodies were found following Israeli attacks and repeated but unconfirmed reports that Israel was using chemical weapons.

Samples from the eight bodies "are currently being analyzed at the American University of Science and Technology," the doctor added.

Aoun said he had that suspicions chemical weapons may have been used, but "nothing

is certain."

"The causes of their deaths are not clear. The bodies are completely black, yet they are not burned. There are no wounds, no internal hemorrhaging and their muscles and hair are intact," he added.

The syndicate head said laboratory results would take two weeks, but "even then, I don't believe we have the proper technology to determine if chemical weapons were used."

Aoun said the samples may eventually be sent to Switzerland, as he thought "the US or French intelligence might interfere in the process" if the samples were taken there.

Soil samples are also being collected from the Kfarshouba area, which has been repeatedly struck by Israeli air strikes, after eyewitness reports of "yellow and greenish flames, which is normally a sign of the usage of phosphorous bombs," Aoun said.

"We should have solid scientific results [on the soil samples] by the end of the week," he added.

Separately, security sources in the South said investigations had been started concerning weaponry used during Israel's attacks along the border.