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Pope Benedict calls for ban on cluster bombs

Pope Benedict on Sunday urged governments to ban the use of cluster bombs, ahead of a conference on the issue.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 16:22 May 18, 2008
  • Gulf News

Genoa: Pope Benedict on Sunday urged governments to ban the use of cluster bombs, ahead of a conference on the issue.

Ambassadors from around 100 countries will take part in the 12-day conference in Dublin aimed at sealing an international treaty banning their use.

"I hope…we will get a strong and credible international instrument" to ban the weapons, the pope said. "We have to remedy the errors of the past and avoid their repetition in the future," he added.

Cluster munitions are among the weapons that pose the gravest dangers to civilians.

Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, they explode in mid-air, randomly scattering bomblets.

Countries are seeking a ban due to the risk of civilians being killed or maimed by their effect. They also pose a lasting threat since many bomblets fail to explode on impact.

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