Syrian regime now 'using cluster bombs'

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position during clashes with government forces in the Karmal Jabl district of Aleppo. Human Rights Watch claims to have evidence the Assad regime is now using cluster Show more

AMMAN // An international human-rights group said yesterday it had obtained evidence that Syrian troops were using cluster bombs.

The widely banned munitions pose a grave risk to civilians because they burst into bomblets over large areas and often remain on the ground, detonating only when touched.

Steve Goose, of US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said cluster bombs "have been comprehensively banned by most nations, and Syria should immediately stop all use of these indiscriminate weapons that continue to kill and maim for years". HRW had previously reported cluster bomb remnants found in Homs and nearby Hama this summer.

"Syria's disregard for its civilian population is all too evident in its air campaign, which now apparently includes dropping these deadly cluster bombs into populated areas," said Mr Goose, who is director of HRW's arms division.

Syrian government officials had no immediate comment.

There were also new signs of the mounting tensions between Turkey and Syria, two former allies who have become bitter foes since the outbreak of the 19-month rebellion against the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad.

Syria banned Turkish flights from its airspace yesterday and Turkey made a tit-for-tat move.

The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Syria was "abusing" civilian flights by using them to transport military equipment.

Last week, Turkey forced a Syrian plane coming from Russia to land and confiscated what it said was military equipment on board. Russia said the plane was carrying spare radar parts, while Syria accused Turkey of piracy.

The Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, yesterday gave the visiting UN-Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, a proposal aimed at ending the conflict in the country's key regional ally.

Mr Salehi said Tehran had "handed its unofficial detailed proposal in writing aimed at solving the Syrian crisis" to Mr Brahimi as well as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in comments broadcast on Al-Alam television. He did not go into details about the proposal, adding only that Tehran would support efforts by the international envoy.

Mr Brahimi, who arrived in Tehran from Turkey after meeting Saudi officials, welcomed the Iranian initiative.

"We hope all these ideas gather into a project to put an end to the Syrian people's nightmare," Mr Brahimi said.

He is to meet a top security official, Saeed Jalili, today before leaving for Baghdad.

After a week of exchanges of fire across the border, a Turkish newspaper reported that the country has reinforced four naval bases along its Mediterranean coast north of Syria. The Hurriyet daily said Turkey had sent frigates with cannons, as well as anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles to the naval bases.

Turkey has been retaliating for Syrian shells and mortar rounds hitting Turkish soil.

Despite Turkey's recent measures, Syrian opposition leaders say Ankara and other foreign backers of the rebels are not doing enough to help them break the battlefield stalemate.

Abdelbaset Sieda, head of the largest opposition group, the Syrian National Council, said the international community was doing nothing more than managing the Syrian conflict.

The international community must establish safe havens in Syria and enforce no-fly zones to help the rebels counter the regime's airstrikes on rebel-held areas, Mr Sieda said in Istanbul.

This would also cut down on the number of Syrians seeking refuge abroad and "resolve the humanitarian crisis, especially with winter approaching", he said.

The idea of safe havens has found little international support.

Foreign backers of the rebels fear being dragged deeper into the conflict.

In its report on cluster bombs, HRW said Syrian activists posted at least 18 videos from October 9 to 12 showing remnants of the bombs in or near several towns, which included the central city of Homs, the northern cities of Idlib and Aleppo, the countryside in Latakia, and the eastern Ghouta district near Damascus.

Cluster bombs are of particular concern because they scatter small bomblets over a wide area. Many of the bomblets do not immediately explode, posing a threat to civilians long afterward.

* The Associated Press with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse