Belgian organization confirms white phosphorus munitions used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen

YemenExtra

M.A.

The Belgian International Human Rights Organization confirmed that it has detected the use of phosphorus in a number of areas experiencing an armed conflict such as Yemen, asserting in a report that the coalition led by Saudi Arabia used in its war on Yemen white phosphorus munitions.

The organization warned in a report published on its official website of the danger of using white phosphorus in conflicted areas because this deadly weapon has a great impact on individuals, which falls within the weapons that pose the greatest threat to human life because this weapon ignites when exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere and continues to flare up to consumption or oxygen breakage, and its chemical reaction generates a very high temperature of up to (815) degrees Celsius in addition to light and smoke.

According to the report, the weapon causes the burning of the human body chemically or thermally to the bones because it is highly soluble in fat and its effects would remain even after treatment.

White phosphorus munitions have been used in at least six other armed conflicts between 2000 and 2016 in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Somalia, Iraq, Gaza and Lebanon.