MIDDLE EAST:Some 1.2 million unexploded cluster bombs are littering southern Lebanon, writes Michael Jansen, from Tyre
The million-plus unexploded cluster bombs fired by Israel last summer into southern Lebanon are slowly being cleared by expert disposal teams. Chris Clark, head of the UN Mine Action Co-ordination Committee, says work should finish by December next year.
There are currently 38 teams in the field and another 11 are preparing for deployment by the end of January. In addition there are seven teams dealing with other live munitions, including five demining units.
"When the Israelis withdrew they handed over maps of the areas they occupied but these were useless. What we want is a spread sheet or table showing target locations," he stated.
His teams also need to know the type of munitions fired. "This is readily available at the press of a button" because all the means - artillery, rockets and aircraft - used to deliver cluster munitions are computer controlled.
International forces fighting in Kosovo and Afghanistan promptly handed over such information to deminers, enabling clearance teams to work speedily and efficiently.
Israel has not given co-ordination team the data. It has had to rely on articles in the Israeli daily Haaretz which reported that the number of cluster shells and rockets fired was 1,800, each containing 644 bomblets.
Due to the failure of 20-40 per cent to explode, it is estimated that 1.2 million bomblets remained at the end of the conflict out of 2.8 million fired. This figure does not include those dropped by aircraft about which Mr Clark has no information.
He observed that the situation in Kosovo, considered very grave, involved the clearance of 25,000 cluster munitions. This took 2½ years. He led the effort there as well. Here, in three months, 78,000 bomblets have been cleared.
This must be counted as a major feat because the teams have not been operating at full strength and they have had to spend time searching for target areas.
Once they have defined the locations, it does not matter how many bombs there are. "There are 33 million square metres of land contaminated with cluster bombs. Each team should be able to clear 3,000 square metres a day. If the minimum number of working days is 20 a month, it should take 11 months to finish the job, not taking into account what we have done so far."
The time could be cut because there are UN Interim Force (Unifil) and Lebanese army teams also clearing cluster bombs and other munitions in co-ordination with the committee.
Eighteen civilians have been killed and 158 wounded. Six Lebanese soldiers have died and 10 have been injured and five foreign deminers have been wounded. Even when the region has been "neutralised", danger will remain.
"There will be bombs for decades" in less frequented areas and "freak" accidents which will maim and kill. The cost of demining is $27 million, "quite cheap for the job", Mr Clark said.
In the latest article written by Meron Rapaport in Haaretz, published at the weekend, an Israeli artillery officer identified only as Capt Ariel rejected claims by Israeli chief-of-staff Dan Halutz that cluster shells were used in urban areas without authorisation from army headquarters.
Israel has come under sharp criticism for firing cluster shells into fields, village streets, homes, gardens and orchards.
Capt Ariel, who was at headquarters for all but 48 hours during the war, said: "It is completely false that we fired cluster munitions on our own initiative."
He said all targets were confirmed before firing. It had been expected that bombs would fall on settled locations but not on areas where Israeli troops were operating.
Capt Ariel agreed that the Israeli army had the information which the committee needs.
"I fail to understand why we do not not transfer it to [ him] and put an end to all this. We are talking about one huge e-mail. Period."
