White phosphorus munitions
White phosphorus munitions are weapons that use one of the common
White phosphorus is a highly efficient smoke-producing agent, reacting with air to produce an immediate blanket of phosphorus pentoxide vapour. Smoke-producing white phosphorus munitions are very common, particularly as smoke grenades for infantry, loaded in defensive grenade launchers on tanks and other armoured vehicles, and in the ammunition allotment for artillery and mortars. These create smoke screens to mask friendly forces' movement, position, infrared signatures, and shooting positions. They are often called smoke/marker rounds for their use in marking points of interest, such as a light mortar to designate a target for artillery spotters.
History
Early use
White phosphorus was used by Fenian (Irish nationalist) arsonists in the 19th century in a formulation that became known as "Fenian fire".[3] The phosphorus would be in a solution of carbon disulfide; when the carbon disulfide evaporates, the phosphorus bursts into flames.[4] The same formula was also used in arson in Australia.[4]
World War I, the inter-war period and World War II
The
Among the many social groups protesting the war and conscription at the time, at least one, the Industrial Workers of the World in Australia, used Fenian fire.[4]
In the interwar years, the
In 1940, when the German invasion of
At the start of the Normandy campaign, 20% of American 81 mm mortar ammunition consisted of M57 point-detonating bursting smoke rounds using WP filler. At least five American
US Sherman tanks carried the M64, a 75mm white phosphorus round intended for screening and artillery spotting, but tank crews found it useful against German tanks such as the Panther that their APC ammunition could not penetrate at long range. Smoke from rounds fired directly at German tanks would be used to blind them, allowing the Shermans to close to a range where their armour-piercing rounds were effective. In addition, due to the turret ventilation systems sucking in fumes, German crews would sometimes be forced to abandon their vehicle: this proved particularly effective against inexperienced crews who, on seeing smoke inside the turret, would assume their tank had caught fire.[6] Smoke was also used for "silhouetting" enemy vehicles, with rounds dropped behind them to produce a better contrast for gunnery.[7]
Later 20th century uses
White phosphorus munitions were used extensively by US forces in Vietnam and by Russian forces in the First Chechen War and Second Chechen War. White phosphorus grenades were used by the US in Vietnam to destroy Viet Cong tunnel complexes as they would burn up all oxygen and suffocate the enemy soldiers sheltering inside.[8][9] British soldiers also made extensive use of white phosphorus grenades during the Falklands War to clear out Argentine positions as the peaty soil they were constructed on tended to lessen the impact of fragmentation grenades.[10][11]
Use by US forces in Iraq
In November 2004, during the
The documentary Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre, produced by RAI TV and released 8 November 2005, showed video and photos that they claimed to be of Fallujah combatants and also civilians, including women and children, who had died of burns caused by white phosphorus during the Second Battle of Fallujah.[15]
On 15 November 2005, following denials to the press from the US ambassadors in London and Rome, the US Department of Defense confirmed that US forces had used white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon in Fallujah, in order to drive combatants out of dug-in positions.[15][16] On 22 November 2005, the Iraqi government stated it would investigate the use of white phosphorus in the battle of Fallujah.[17] On 30 November 2005, the BBC quoted US General Peter Pace saying "It [WP munitions] is not a chemical weapon. It is an incendiary. And it is well within the law of war to use those weapons as they're being used, for marking and for screening."[18] Professor Paul Rodgers from the University of Bradford department of peace and conflict studies said that white phosphorus would probably fall into the category of chemical weapons if it was used directly against people.[15]
Use by Israeli forces in Lebanon
2006 Lebanon War
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israel said that it had used phosphorus shells "against military targets in open ground" in Southern Lebanon. Israel said that its use of these munitions was permitted under international conventions.[19] However, President of Lebanon Émile Lahoud said that phosphorus shells were used against civilians.[20] The first Lebanese official complaint about the use of phosphorus came from Information Minister Ghazi Aridi.[21]
2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorous artillery shells indiscriminately in its attack in Dhayra, Lebanon on October 16, that injured at least nine civilians, and that it was unlawful. Amnesty is investigating this and other potential violations of international humanitarian law by all parties in the region.[22][23] The claim was confirmed by The Washington Post, which identified two white phosphorus shell casings made in the United States.[24]
By March 6, the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon said 117 white phosphorous bombs had been dropped on southern Lebanon.[25] Israel says that they have been using the substance to create a smokescreen on the battlefield; however, it has been alleged that its use was an attempt by Israel to make the land uninhabitable in the future.[25]
Use by Israeli forces in Gaza
In its early statements regarding the
On 5 January 2009, The Times of London reported that telltale smoke associated with white phosphorus had been seen in the vicinity of Israeli shelling. On 12 January, it was reported that more than 50 patients in Nasser Hospital were being treated for phosphorus burns.[30]
On 15 January, the headquarters of the
After the
Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission Justice Richard Goldstone presented the report of the Mission to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 September 2009.[36] The Goldstone report accepted that white phosphorus is not illegal under international law but did find that the Israelis were "systematically reckless in determining its use in built-up areas". It also called for serious consideration to be given to the banning of its use in built-up areas.[37] The Government of Israel issued an initial response rejecting the findings of the Goldstone report.[38]
The 155mm WP artillery shells used by Israel are typically the American
Afghanistan (2009)
There are confirmed cases of white phosphorus burns on bodies of civilians wounded during US–
Syrian Civil War
The Syrian government,
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
During the
The Azerbaijani authorities, in turn, accused the Armenian forces of using white phosphorus on civilian areas.[53][54][55] On 20 November, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan filed a lawsuit, accusing the Armenian Armed Forces of using phosphorus ammunition in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in Tartar District.[56]
Russo-Ukrainian war (2014–present)
Regulation and application
Uses
White phosphorus ignites when interacting with oxygen, releasing a large amount of smoke during combustion. The military can use the curtain to mask troop movements. However, the chemical characteristics of the substance make phosphorus bombs especially dangerous: the burning temperature of phosphorus is 800–2500 °C; it sticks to various surfaces, including skin and clothes; the burning substance is difficult to extinguish. White phosphorus can cause deep burns down to the bones, and remnants of the substance in the tissues can ignite again after the initial treatment. It is difficult for military doctors, who are usually limited by medical resources, to provide timely and full assistance to the victims. Even burn survivors can die from organ failure due to the toxicity of white phosphorus. In addition, fires caused by incendiary projectiles can destroy civilian buildings and property, and damage crops and livestock. Humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch are calling on governments to include phosphorus warheads under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.[57][58][59][60]
Non-governmental international organizations have recorded the military use of white phosphorus in Syria, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip, and other war zones. Militaries worldwide, including the US military, use white phosphorus for incendiary purposes.[57]
International law
White phosphorus munitions are not banned under international law, but because of their incendiary effects, their use is supposed to be tightly regulated.[57] Because white phosphorus has legal uses, shells filled with it are not directly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Experts consider them not as incendiary, but as masking, since their main goal is to create a smoke screen.[58]
While in general white phosphorus is not subject to restriction, certain uses in weaponry are banned or restricted by general international laws: in particular, those related to incendiary devices.
The convention also exempts certain categories of munitions from its definition of incendiary weapons: specifically, these are munitions which "may have incidental incendiary effects, such as illuminants, tracers, smoke or signalling systems" and those "designed to combine penetration, blast or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect."[63]
The use of incendiary and other flame weapons against matériel, including enemy military personnel, is not directly forbidden by any treaty. The United States Military mandates that incendiary weapons, where deployed, not be used "in such a way as to cause unnecessary suffering."[64] The term "unnecessary suffering" is defined through use of a proportionality test, comparing the anticipated military advantage of the weapon's use to the amount of suffering potentially caused.[citation needed]
Chemical weaponry
Despite their danger, the Chemical Weapons Convention does not classify phosphorus bombs as chemical weapons.[57] This convention is meant to prohibit weapons that are "dependent on the use of the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare", and defines a "toxic chemical" as a substance "which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals".[65] An annex lists chemicals that are restricted under the convention, and WP is not listed in the Schedules of chemical weapons or precursors.[66]
In a 2005 interview with RAI, Peter Kaiser, spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons[67] (an organisation overseeing the CWC and reporting directly to the UN General Assembly), discussed cases where use of WP would potentially fall under the auspices of the CWC:
No it's not forbidden by the CWC if it is used within the context of a military application that does not require or does not intend to use the toxic properties of white phosphorus. White phosphorus is normally used to produce smoke, to camouflage movement.
If that is the purpose for which the white phosphorus is used, then that is considered under the convention legitimate use.
If on the other hand the toxic properties of white phosphorus are specifically intended to be used as a weapon, that, of course, is prohibited, because the way the convention is structured or applied, any chemicals used against humans or animals that cause harm or death through the toxic properties of the chemical are considered chemical weapons.[68]
Smoke-screening properties
Weight-for-weight, phosphorus is the most effective
When phosphorus burns in air, it first forms phosphorus pentoxide (which exists as tetraphosphorus decoxide except at very high temperatures):
- P4 + 5 O2 → P4O10
However phosphorus pentoxide is extremely
- P4O10 + 6 H2O → 4 H3PO4 (also forms polyphosphoric acids such as pyrophosphoric acid, H4P2O7)[70]
Since an
Because of the great weight efficiency of WP smoke, it is particularly suited for applications where weight is highly restricted, such as
Various disadvantages of WP are discussed below, but one which is particular to smoke-screening is "pillaring".[71] Because the WP smoke is formed from fairly hot combustion, the gasses in the cloud are hot, and tend to rise. Consequently, the smoke screen tends to rise off the ground relatively quickly and form aerial "pillars" of smoke which are of little use for screening. Tactically this may be counteracted by using WP to get a screen quickly, but then following up with emission type screening agents for a more persistent screen. Some countries have begun using red phosphorus instead. Red phosphorus ("RP") burns cooler than WP and eliminates a few other disadvantages as well, but offers exactly the same weight efficiency. Other approaches include WP soaked felt pads (which also burn more slowly, and pose a reduced risk of incendiarism) and PWP, or plasticised white phosphorus.
Physiological effects
NFPA 704 fire diamond | |
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In addition to direct injuries caused by fragments of their casings, white phosphorus munitions can cause injuries in two main ways: burn injuries and vapour inhalation.
Burning
In munitions, white phosphorus burns readily with flames of 800 °C (1,472 °F).
Due to the pyrophoric nature of WP, penetrating injuries are immediately treated by smothering the wound using water, damp cloth or mud, isolating it from oxygen until fragments can be removed: military forces will typically do so using a bayonet or knife where able. Bicarbonate solution is applied to the wound to neutralise any build-up of phosphoric acid, followed by removal of any remaining visible fragments: these are easily observed as they are luminescent in dark surroundings. Surgical debridement around the wound is used to avoid fragments too small to detect causing later systemic failure, with further treatment proceeding as with a thermal burn.[78]
Smoke inhalation
Burning white phosphorus produces a hot, dense, white smoke consisting mostly of
See also
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Further reading
- OL 27342118M.