Cluster munitions are munitions consisting of a projectile known as a parent munition that transports several hundred bomblets designed to be dispersed over a wide area the size of several football pitches VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00 Cluster bombs are munitions consisting of a projectile known as a parent munition that
00:14 transports several hundred bomblets, or cluster munitions.
00:19 Dropped by aircraft or launched from the ground, cluster bombs are designed to be dispersed
00:24 over a wide area the size of several football pitches.
00:30 As these weapons are generally free-falling, they can strike the ground a considerable
00:33 distance from the target area if they're not used correctly, or if conditions are, for
00:38 example, windy.
00:39 In addition, not all bomblets detonate on impact.
00:42 They thus become de facto anti-personnel mines, banned by the 1997 Ottawa Convention.
00:49 Just after a conflict is over, they can kill dozens of people, including small children
00:54 attracted by their bright colours.
00:56 By signing the Oslo Convention, more than 100 countries have pledged to clear contaminated
01:01 areas.
01:02 A long and dangerous task.
01:04 [explosion]
01:09 [explosion]