What are thermobaric bombs? And why should they be banned?

By Marianne Hanson, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland

Russian forces in Ukraine may have used thermobaric weapons and cluster bombs, according to reports from the Ukraine government and human rights groups.

If true, this represents an escalation in brutality that should alarm us all.

While cluster munitions are banned by international convention, thermobaric munitions – also known as fuel-air explosive devices, or “vacuum bombs” – are not explicitly prohibited for use against military…

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~	India’s LGBTQIA+ community notches legal wins but still faces societal hurdles to acceptance, equal rights

~	Al Ahly and Esperance highlight the dominance of North Africa in club football. Lessons for other African teams

~	Sri Lanka: Fifteen years after the end of war, victims still await justice at Mullivaikkal

~	South African communities vs Shell: high court victories show that cultural beliefs and practices count in climate cases

~	Why the New Yorker blocked UK website readers from its Lucy Letby story – an expert explains

~	How a British military march became the distinctive sound of American graduations

~	UN rights office urges Sri Lanka to reveal fate of the disappeared

~	World Should Rally to Halt Unfolding Atrocities in Darfur

~	It’s a mistake to dismiss Bridgerton as fluffy period drama

~	How newborn chicks are helping to settle a centuries-old debate about cognition and our senses