Cluster bombs — a prohibited weapon used against civilians

Among the most dangerous weapons NATO used during the bombing of Serbia in 1999 were cluster bombs (cluster munitions) — a weapon that opens in the air and scatters hundreds of small bomblets over a wide area. This weapon, which is today banned by an international convention, killed and wounded civilians not only during the war, but also for years afterward, because a significant percentage of the bomblets do not explode on impact and remain as unexploded ordnance.

How cluster bombs work

A cluster bomb is a container that holds hundreds of small bomblets (submunitions or „bomblets“). It is dropped from an aircraft and opens at a certain altitude, scattering the bomblets over an area the size of several football fields. Each bomb covers an enormous surface, making it extremely dangerous for everything living in that space — soldiers, civilians, animals.

The key problem with cluster bombs is the high rate of unexploded bomblets. According to estimates by the Red Cross, between 5% and 30% of the bomblets do not explode on impact. These unexploded bomblets remain in the field and function like anti-personnel mines — they explode when someone touches, moves or steps on them. Children are especially at risk because the bomblets are small, brightly colored and resemble toys.

Use in Serbia in 1999

NATO officially confirmed the use of cluster bombs during the bombing of Yugoslavia. According to various sources, about 1,392 cluster bombs with a total of about 295,000 bomblets were dropped. Various types were used:

• CBU-87 Combined Effects Munitions — an American cluster bomb with 202 BLU-97 bomblets
• CBU-99 Rockeye — an anti-armor cluster bomb
• RBL-755 — a British cluster bomb with 147 BL-755 bomblets

The massacre at the Niš market — 7 May 1999

The most tragic individual incident with cluster bombs occurred on 7 May 1999 in Niš, the third-largest city in Serbia. On that day, a NATO aircraft dropped cluster bombs on the city center, hitting an open-air market, the clinical center and residential buildings.

The bomblets fell on market stalls full of people who were buying food. Fifteen civilians were killed on the spot or soon afterward, and more than 70 were wounded, many with severe shrapnel injuries. Among the victims were women, elderly people and children — ordinary people who had gone out that morning to buy bread and vegetables.

NATO first denied the use of cluster bombs in Niš, and then claimed that the target had been a nearby military facility and that „an error had occurred.“ For the families of the 15 killed civilians, that „error“ was the death of their loved ones.

Unexploded bomblets — a danger that endures

After the end of the bombing, thousands of unexploded bomblets from cluster bombs remained on the territory of Serbia and Kosovo. These bomblets posed a deadly danger to civilians, especially to children and farmers.

In the years after the war, numerous incidents were recorded in which civilians — often children — were killed by unexploded bomblets they found in fields, in forests or beside roads. Demining lasted for years and cost millions of dollars.

The ban on cluster bombs

Partly under the impression of the experiences from Yugoslavia, Lebanon and other conflicts, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted in 2008, banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs. The convention was ratified by more than 110 countries.

However, the US — which was the main user of cluster bombs in Serbia in 1999 — did not sign the convention. The same applies to Russia, China and Israel. The weapon that killed civilians at the Niš market is still not banned for the world's largest military powers.

Remembering the victims

At the site of the massacre at the Niš market there stands today a memorial with the names of the 15 killed civilians. Every year, on 7 May, the citizens of Niš pay tribute to the victims — ordinary people who set off for the market that morning and never returned home.

The cluster bombs in Niš were not „collateral damage“ — they were the consequence of a conscious decision to use a weapon that is by its nature indiscriminate, that cannot distinguish a soldier from a civilian, a market stall from a military bunker. Those who made that decision were never held accountable. Lest we forget.