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Articles : Human Rights"It is just like they have laid new mine fields"
SULTANIA, Lebanon — Even before the most recent round of fighting began between Hizbollah and Israel last month, Southern Lebanon was full of unexploded ordnance left over from the Israeli occupation that ended in 2000.
But now the clearing of minefields and other old weapons has been overshadowed by the need to remove the thousands of cluster bombs left by a month of Israeli artillery strikes.
Following the Aug. 14 cease-fire between the two sides, at least seven people have been killed and more than 20 injured by cluster bombs or other unexploded ordnance.
“It is just like they have laid new mine fields,” said Ali Sakka, a high school teacher in this farming village of about 2,000 that is about 15 miles north of the Israeli border.
The scene in Sultania repeats itself virtually anywhere one pulls off the road in the south. The bomblets can be found in at least 89 sites already identified by the United Nations, which has said that number will likely grow in the coming days to as many as 200. The UN estimates there are as many as 8,500 unexploded bomblets throughout the south and that it could take as long as a year to clear them all.
“We put rocks around them so when the army comes they can pick them up,” said Sakka as he gave a tour of the village, pointing out at least a dozen bomblets without ever walking off the road. They sat on sidewalks and in the parking lot of the local mosque, and Sakka said they could also be found in farms, yards and other areas further from the road.
“We are afraid children will pick them up,” Sakka said. “Some of them we have found in the trees.”
The most common type of bomblet — the M42 — is about the size of a D battery. The bomblets are spread by artillery shells that break apart into smaller pieces when they reach a certain trajectory.
Allen Kelly, who works with the United Nations Mine Action Service in Lebanon, said that it is common for more than 10 percent of the bomblets to remain unexploded.
Kelly said his group cleared 565 cluster bombs in the first five days of the cease-fire, working just to clear road access in three cities. He said that once roads and other urban areas were cleared, work would begin to remove bomblets from farms and other locations. He said it was fortunate that at least most Lebanese in the area had some experience with unexploded bomblets and knew what to look for.
“Most of them have been in this predicament before, pre-2000,” Kelly said.
In addition to the cluster bombs, the South Lebanon is also littered with other types of unexploded ordnance, from artillery shells to 2,000-pound bombs dropped from Israeli aircraft.
Following his tour of cluster bomb sites, Sakka called a family that lived on the outskirts of the village.
“Is the bomb still in your bathroom?” he asked.
“My daughter was in the kitchen when the bomb hit,” said Mahmoud Al-Dour, the owner of the house, pointing to the room next door to where the 6-foot-long 2,000-pound bomb sat, embedded in the family’s washing machine. Another family in the village showed journalists a 155-milimeter artillery shell that had landed, unexploded, in the master bedroom.
Once the munitions dropped on the south during the last month are cleared, there will still be the challenge of the mines that remain from the years of occupation. (On my first trip to Southern Lebanon, in 2003, I made the mistake of wandering off the road near Nabatiyeh. A friend’s cousin freaked out, grabbing me and pulling me back onto the road. “Habibi, NO,” he said, pointing a sign warning of mines further down the road.)
Kelly says that his group has cleared more than 60,000 of them since 2000 and that about 375,000 more remain. Kelly said that he believes the Lebanese government is now in possession of most, if not all, of the maps showing where the mines are laid, though the Lebanese government continues to claim that some of the locations have not been revealed.
Kelly also said that local knowledge had led to the discovery of what he believes to be all of the locations mines had been laid.
Land mines have killed more than 1,800 Lebanese since 1970.
Posted by David_Enders
Freelance (freestyle?) journalist who has spent more than 18 months in Iraq and has written for Men's Journal, Mother Jones and The Nation magazines, as well as the (London) Sunday Times and other newspapers. His first book, "Baghdad Bulletin," is available from the...
Lebanese Soldiers Die Clearing Shells
BEIRUT, 24 August 2006 — Three Lebanese soldiers were killed yesterday while clearing unexploded Israeli shells in southern Lebanon, underscoring the dangers of a region awaiting the deployment of thousands of UN peacekeepers.
Unexploded cluster bombs prompt fear and fury in returning refugees
Four dead as mine-clearing teams fear death toll from Israeli weapons could soar
When the guns went silent in Aitta Shaab, a war-ravaged village close to the Israeli border, three children skipped through the rubble looking for a little fun.
Hurdling over lumps of crushed concrete and dodging spikes of twisted metal, Sukna, Hassan and Merwa, aged 10 to 12, paused before a curious object. Sukna picked it up. The terrifying blast flung her to the ground, thrusting metal shards into her liver. Hassan’s abdomen was cut open. Merwa was hit in the leg and arm.
and these should have been related items:
• Unexploded Cluster Bombs Prompt Fear and Fury in Returning Refugees
• Israel’s Invisible Killers
• Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast
and for those readers who don’t know, this article, as well as David’s recent blogs from Lebanon, are the product of GNN’s latest experiment in participatory media, the Guerrilla Journalism Fund.
many thanks to everyone who donated, and thanks ahead of time to everyone who is going to.
also, David, with your next article, include this and all your Lebanon blogs in the related items…
when i was in Laos in the late 90’s researching a project on air america, i saw first hand the effects of UXO; they were still cleaning up from the 60’s and 70’s. most of the UXO were cluster bombs and big bombs that hadn’t gone off…
posters warning kids not to play with them, warning adults not to harvest the metal, and illustrations of all the different ordinance, were everywhere in markets, schoolgrounds and wats.
every year, the UXO workers clear an area only to have the monsoons cause mudslides, bringing fresh UXO down from the jungly hillside back into the villages.
To this day, farming remains difficult and dangerous, village path’s are trecherous, and children continue to die…
I believe the number of unexploded clusters is much higher than 10%, and the unstated purpose of clusters is to cheaply mine an area, with the purposes of causing economic hardship and to terrorize civilians (remember, land mines are not meant to kill, only injure severely, which causes a long-term economic burden in healthcare, and redirects medical personnel to deal with survivors).
the war on terrror is not going to endW*Video: Thousands of unexploded cluster bombs in Lebanon:* An estimated 15,000 illegal cluster bombs, the same kind that the US used in Iraq, are scattered all over southern Lebanon. The UN estimates that Israel dropped 150,000 bombs on Lebanon. Even more shocking, many of them have not yet exploded. It is estimated that 15,000 of them are unexploded cluster bombs. Cluster bombs are highly dangerous to civilian populations because they are very small and hard to see. That’s why they are illegal to use in war. Despite this fact, the US also used cluster bombs in Iraq and Mark Garlasco, from Human Rights Watch, reports that he is seeing the same bombs in Lebanon that the US illegally used in Iraq. In this video clip, Democracy Now!‘s Ana Nogueira files a report from southern Lebanon.
You can also read a transcript of this report here.
yeah Laos remains, i believe, the most heavily bombed country in history.
ever see the documentary ‘Bombies’ ?!?
Would’ve expected IZZY to have commented on this, but maybe he’s busting a gut at boot-camp. So for those of you missing his words of wisdom here’s his earlier posting on the subject
You may not know this because you probably never was a soldier in the infantry. Western armies, built defensive positions in a very sophisticated way. They use tape, wire, obstacles, flares, listening devices, landmines, trenches, etc. Trenches are layed out in a very sophisticated pattern with tench having a range cards. They build clay or sand models. Everything is carefully worked out. The infantry can tear down a defensive postion pretty much the same way boy scout’s tear down a camp site. Every mine and every razor wire pole and peg is accounted for.
The IDF never leaves stuff behind, unless it has a deliberate reason to. Israel has no reason to leave land mines behind.
the reason izzy is staying away is because i busted him the other day posting something which proves he is a misnomer. when i pointed it out, he pulled it and has been slithering around keeping low since.
Izzy said if Hez (which he called “the terrrorists”) or Lebanese forces felt Israel has broken the terms of a cease fire, they should feel free to lob missles into israel.
In other words israel is ok with katushas coming down on israeli kids as long as it means war with lebanon.
isrealforever does not give a shit about jews or israelis, he wants war. who knows who he really is because of this stoopid hidden face policy here.
everyone is chicken (well not everyone) to show their face, which allows alot of slimey fuks and war shills to travel around messin with anything that could be valuable here…
on that note, back to david’s very good article. peace
stoopid hidden face policy here.
You must be new to The Internet.
From a similar subject not far from here:
The Ottawa Convention (a.k.a. The Mine Ban Treaty) was signed on December 3, 1997 and became international law on March 1, 1999.
The Convention makes landmines illegal in two-thirds of all countries.
The United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan have not signed the treaty. *
The Mine Ban Treaty forbids the use, production, selling, storing, or transfer of antipersonnel landmines
The Mine Ban Treaty forbids the use, production, selling, storing, or transfer of antipersonnel landmines
As of 2006, 43 countries have not ratified the Treaty. Find out which countries have not ratified the Treaty: http://www.icbl.org/treaty/snp
This treaty requires that participating governments must provide resources to mine clearance and survivor assistance.
Ok I’ll say it for the 100th time, you guys need to STOP mentioning about a certain ratforever and STOP responding to him. He’s here for one reason only and that’s to take things off topic, to slur and insult and end up making you all look like fools. The more you respond, the more he succeeds. You don’t want that moron here? Stop giving him the time of day and feeding him ffs!
you don’t want that moron here? fuk the hidden identities as there are always more izzy’s, who like mushrooms, grow best in dark places filled with shit. only way to deal with it is no more hidden identities (will take care of the CIA too).
there are always more izzy’s, who like mushrooms, grow best in dark places filled with shit
LOL. But in all honesty, there are so many crazy motherfuckers on this site that your repeated rallying against anonymity is found to be lacking in a firm grasp of the reality of this site. I know a couple other people have tried to tell you this, but I wanted to add my .02.
will take care of the CIA too
Aren’t the spooks are the most entertaining part of the GNN?
State Department Investigates Israeli Use of US-Made Cluster Bombs: The State Department is investigating whether Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that restrict when it can employ such weapons. A report released Wednesday by the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center said it had found unexploded bomblets, including hundreds of American types, in 249 locations south of the Litani River.
in the state lock down scenario many people believe is our future, disappearances are a huge hinderance to any movement to reassert individual rights and freedoms. giving your name frees you as it makes you visible to many that understand you may not have disappeared for the reason the gov is saying, you disappeared because of your political views.
as i have said before, the internet is not forever. it is a good meeting place for likeminds internationally and nationally. once it goes down, all links are lost if the remain only in cyberspace.
may sound paranoid, but i believe it is another benefit of showing your face.
Toll from unexploded Israeli bomblets in Lebanon grows: Three children and a man were wounded Sunday by cluster bombs in southern Lebanon, medical sources said, bringing to almost 60 the number of people hurt by the controversial explosives since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah two weeks ago.
UN Slams Israel’s Use of US Cluster Bombs
IDF Commander: We Fired More Than a Million Cluster Bombs in Lebanon
A Walk Through the Rubble: Israel’s Use of American Cluster Bombs
Deadly harvest: The Lebanese fields sown with cluster bombs: Lebanese villagers must risk death in fields ‘flooded’ with more than a million Israeli cluster bombs – or leave crops to rot.
UN condemns Israeli cluster bomb use: The UN says it estimates that 350,000 unexploded cluster bomblets remain in southern Lebanon, leaving a deadly legacy for civilians.
Israeli Bomblets Plague Lebanon
“It is just like they have laid new mine fields“
well, as it turns out…
UN Mine Group: Israeli Forces Laid Mines in Lebanon During Summer War