Azerbaijan Has Used 'Smerch' Multiple Times with Banned Cluster Munitions: Alarms Raised to Ombudsman

Today, Azerbaijan has shelled the city of Hadrut in Artsakh twice using the Smerch multiple rocket launcher system. The shelling with cluster munitions has resulted in damage to the civilian population. This has been confirmed by official reports as well as all media publications, along with information received from the peaceful inhabitants of Artsakh and separate alarms presented to the Human Rights Defender.

The Armenian Human Rights Defender has reported that the day before, the Artsakh Human Rights Defender had also declared the use of intensive cluster ammunition based on the findings of their fact-finding efforts.

Attacks armed with cluster munitions constitute an unacceptable act of military aggression against the peaceful population of Artsakh. Both the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions explicitly limit the rights to choose methods and means of warfare, prohibiting the use of such dangerous weaponry.

International legal documents and customary humanitarian law prohibit the use of cluster munitions as they are considered lethal and inhuman. These weapons have indiscriminate effects and endanger the lives and health of the civilian population, causing additional damage and suffering.

The Human Rights Defender calls upon interested international organizations and all human rights-focused international entities to respond and make clear and unequivocal calls to stop the aggressive and inhumane behavior of the Azerbaijani side.

The use of such weapons crosses all red lines and can lead to unpredictable consequences. The application of cluster munitions is not only unacceptable in terms of the immediate damage inflicted but also poses serious risks to the health of future generations.