Cluster bombs used on Syrian civilians, group says

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Herve Bar / AFP - Getty ImagesA man who lost a member of his family cries as he sits outside his destroyed home following a government air strike in the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province on Saturday.By NBC News staff and wire reportsSyrian government forces have dropped Soviet-made cluster  bombs over civilian areas in the past week as they battle to push back rebel  gains, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday.

The bombs were dropped from planes and helicopters, with many of the strikes taking place near the main north-south highway running through the northwestern town of Maarat al-Numan, HRW said in a report.


 

"If we needed any further proof of the Syrian government's complete disregard  for the lives of its own citizens, its own children, well, here it is.  Because  we know now that the government is using cluster munitions in populated areas," Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch said in a video statement.  "And of course these weapons are extremely dangerous for the civilian population  and the children."

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