Conflicts across the globe illustrate the devastating humanitarian consequences when urban areas become theatres of war. The use of explosive weapons in these environments carries numerous implications for civilians, including children. What is being done at the international level, and what further action can states take?
With many contemporary armed conflicts occurring in populated areas, weapons designed for open battlefields—including explosive weapons—pose serious risks to civilians. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) causes tens of thousands of civilian casualties annually. Civilians typically account for 90 percent of casualties reported from EWIPA. In addition, explosive weapons can damage essential civilian infrastructure and services. Attacks with explosive weapons and their remnants can also impede humanitarian assistance, exacerbating the toll on those in need.
Read more…
Source: Australian Institute of International Affairs
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Leveraging new technology for a mine-free future
December 9, 2024
The devastating legacy of armed conflict – often marked by the indiscriminate use of landmines, improvised explosive devices and other explosive ordnance – poses a significant humanitarian challenge. Innovation in mine action With over 25 years of experience, UNOPS has the largest operational mine action capability in the UN system. This vast expertise has given us ...
- Children at Risk: The Dangerous Impacts of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas
December 6, 2024
Conflicts across the globe illustrate the devastating humanitarian consequences when urban areas become theatres of war. The use of explosive weapons in these environments carries numerous implications for civilians, including children. What is being done at the international level, and what further action can states take? With many contemporary armed conflicts occurring in populated areas, weapons ...
- Don’t condemn the US decision to give anti-personnel mines to Ukraine
November 21, 2024
In Ukraine, it’s not just the frontline that’s a minefield. The decision of the United States to offer landmines to Ukraine, a signatory of the landmine ban treaty, creates as much of a diplomatic minefield as a military one. Landmines are different from other weapons that have lethal effects at the moment of their use. In ...
- UN: 1,500 Somalis killed or injured by explosive devices in 2023
September 20, 2024
At least 1,500 civilians were killed or injured by 600 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Somalia over the past year, the UN reported late Thursday. UN Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative for Somalia James Swan said that the threat of IEDs remains critical as Somalia progresses toward self-reliance and sustainability in national security. “I think everyone in ...
- Golan Heights attack: The claims and counterclaims on Majdal Shams strike
July 29, 2024
On Saturday, an explosive slammed into a football pitch in the Golan Heights’ Majdal Shams, killing 12 children. The apparent attack ratcheted up tensions between Israel, which occupies the Golan, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which began clashing with the Israeli military along the Lebanese border in October in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinians under attack ...
- Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention – Intersessional meeting – EU Statement on Victim Assistance
June 18, 2024
The European Union has been resolutely engaged in favour of mine victims and persons with disabilities through its policies and assistance, in particular in the implementation of the Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/257 which provides for national stakeholder dialogues to encourage parties responsible for the wellbeing of mine‐affected communities and survivors to better address the challenges ...
- Pakistan: Hand grenade attack targets Levies Headquarters in Mastung
May 30, 2024
In a shocking incident, a hand grenade attack targeted the Levies headquarters located on Tehsil Road in Mastung, according to police reports. The attack resulted in one person sustaining injuries. The victim, who was struck by the blast, fortunately only suffered minor injuries. The aftermath of the explosion left visible damage, with the glass of a ...
- DR Congo: At least 12 killed in bomb attacks on displacement camps in North Kivu
May 4, 2024
At least 12 people, including children, have been killed in twin bomb blasts that hit two camps for displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to government officials, the United Nations and an aid group. Friday’s explosions targeted the camps in Lac Vert and Mugunga, near the city of Goma, the capital of ...
- Meaningful action to prevent the use of explosive weapons in populated areas could almost halve number of child casualties in conflicts
April 22, 2024
NEW YORK/OSLO, 22 April 2024 – Between 2018 and 2022, explosive weapons were responsible for nearly half – 49.8 per cent – of the more than 47,500 instances of children killed and maimed that were verified by the United Nations, in more than 24 conflict zones globally. The vast majority of these instances occurred in populated ...
- Nigeria: 1.2m people exposed to landmine explosions In North East
February 1, 2024
Group Captain Sadiq Shehu (rtd) has said 1.2 million people comprising returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and members of the host communities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are exposed to explosive remnants of the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency. Shehu further said that in 2022, 639 incidents of bomb explosions were recorded which resulted in the ...
- Ukraine Getting ATACMS Cluster Variant Would Be A Big Problem For Russia
September 27, 2023
In the course of the discussions about what Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles could offer Ukraine, much of the focus has been on variants of these weapons equipped with unitary (single high-explosive) warheads. However, versions loaded with cluster munitions could introduce a whole other set of dire complications to Russian forces. ATACMS, a late ...
- Ukraine: Widespread Use of Cluster Munitions
October 20, 2014
(Berlin) – Ukrainian government forces used cluster munitions in populated areas in Donetsk city in early October 2014, Human Rights Watch said today. The use of cluster munitions in populated areas violates the laws of war due to the indiscriminate nature of the weapon and may amount to war crimes. During a week-long investigation in eastern ...