Flooding South Lebanon - Human Rights Watch

submunition causing it to explode. Idriss suffered injuries to her right arm, sending
her to the hospital for a week. She now must live with her daughter to get the care
she needs for recovery.
Children
Of MACC SL’s 192 reported civilian casualties, about 32 percent were under the age
of 18. 151 Children frequently grab submunitions out of curiosity, attracted by the
ribbon or the weapon’s unusual shape and size. Several also reported that they
thought the submunition resembled a soda can or, in one case, a perfume bottle.
The submunitions “look like a toy,” said `Ali Fakih, the mukhtar of Kfar Dounine. 152
Thirteen-year-old Hassan Hussein Hamadi was undergoing treatment in London
when Human Rights Watch visited. Hassan’s friend `Ali Hussein Dabbouk recounted
that on August 27, in Deir Qanoun Ras al-`Ein:
Hassan and a few of us were playing hide-and-seek next to the house.
When Hassan went to hide, he found a cluster bomb, and he thought it
had already exploded. So he brought it with him. It was black with the
white ribbon completely burned. From the inside, there was red stuff.
He brought it back to the house. When he was alone, he threw it and it
exploded. 153
Hassan’s 19-year-old sister, Fatima Hussein Hamadi, said he lost his right thumb,
part of three fingers on his right hand, and flesh on his right arm. He suffered
shrapnel wounds to his stomach and neck, and doctors had to operate on his right
shoulder. 154
151 MACC SL Casualty List. The Landmines Resource Center found at least 26 percent of its casualties were children. LMRC
Casualty List.
152 Human Rights Watch interview with `Ali Fakih, mukhtar, Kfar Dounine, October 24, 2006.
153 Human Rights Watch interview with `Ali Hussein Dabbouk, Deir Qanoun Ras al-`Ein, September 22, 2006.
154 Human Rights Watch interview with Fatima Hussein Hamadi, Deir Qanoun Ras al-`Ein, September 22, 2006.
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Human Rights Watch February 2008