Saudi Arabia using Cluster Bombs against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen: HRW

The Saudi-led coalition of air forces flying support missions against the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthis in Yemen are being accused of using cluster bombs in civilian areas. Human Rights Watch alleged on Wednesday that that attacks in the northwestern Hajja governorate between April and July of this year have killed and wounded “dozens of civilians.” Cluster munitions are lethal both when they are dropped (thousands of bomblets falling from the cluster rocket) and kill again when unexploded explosives are triggered by someone who picks up or moves one of the smaller charges long after the bomb was dropped. HRW claims it visited seven sites where cluster bombs had been used, finding remnants of cluster rockets and significant amounts of unexploded sub-munitions. HRW had no indication of whether Houthis were killed by the cluster bombs. The organization was able to identify the cluster munitions as American-made M26 rockets that deliver more than 3,800 bomblets per six-rocket volley.