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British charities on Thursday urged the US-led coalition forces to stop using cluster bombs in Iraq and condemned the use of the weaponry as "appalling."
"It's appalling that, despite the well-documented problems with cluster weapons, the US and UK are dropping them on Iraq," said Andrew Purkis, chief executive of the Diana Memorial Fund.
"We urge people to join our campaign to put pressure on governments to take responsibility for the clear up of these indiscriminate weapons of war. Until then, cluster bombs must not be used," he said in a statement.
The statement, jointly made by the Diana Fund and the British-based charity Landmine Action, came a day after the US commanders reportedly confirmed the use of a new form of cluster bombs in Iraq.
Cluster bombs will separate out into dozens of smaller bomblets over a wide area and could be a long-term risk to civilians if the bombers failed to detonate.
The Diana Fund was set up in honor of the late Princess Diana.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2003)
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