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Israels cluster bombs still devastate Lebanon
 [Al Arabiya Latest] Nearly four years after Israel littered southern Lebanon with mines during its devastating war with Hezbollah, teenager Mohammed al-Hajj Mussa can barely bring himself to speak of the day he lost his legs.On August 11, 2006, the lean, dark-haired boy was riding behind his father on a motorbike to deliver food to a nearby town badly hit in the Israeli raids when a cluster bomb went off under one of the tyres. "Later, I was told that I was found in a creek about four hours after the explosion," Mohammed, now 15, told AFP at his rundown home in the Palestinian refugee camp of Al-Bass, located in the southern coastal town of Tyre. "I came to when they were pulling me out of the water, and I knew it. I could see my legs falling apart." That same night, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1701 calling for an end to the hostilities and three days later, the month-long war was over. But Israel left a deadly legacy: the United Nations estimates that Israeli jets dropped more than four million cluster bombs in southern Lebanon in the summer battles. Ninety percent of the bombs were dropped in the final 72 hours before the ceasefire after Resolution 1701 was adopted, the United Nations says. Around 40 percent of the munitions failed to detonate on impact, rendering them de facto anti-personnel mines. The munitions have killed 46 and maimed over 300 civilians since 2006, according to Lebanese army and UN figures. Most of the victims are sappers, farmers and unsuspecting children, who mistake the shiny objects for toys. April 4 marks the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action and in Lebanon activists plan to plant trees in cleared minefields. Posted by: Fred 2010-04-04 |
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