Thermobaric Weapons

About Thermobaric Weapons:

• These are often called “vacuum bombs” or “enhanced blast weapons”.
• Working
  • It consists of a fuel container with two separate explosive charges.
  • This can be launched as a rocket or dropped as a bomb from aircraft. When it hits its target, the first explosive charge opens the container and widely scatters fuel mixture as a cloud.
  • This cloud can penetrate any building openings or defences that are not totally sealed.
  • A second charge then detonates the cloud, resulting in a huge fireball, a massive blast wave and a vacuum which sucks up all surrounding oxygen. The weapon can destroy reinforced buildings, equipment and kill or injure people.
• Impacts: The shockwave produced by thermobaric bombs can destroy structures, while the blast’s pressure differential causes catastrophic damage to the human body, including rupturing organs and lungs.
• There are no international laws specifically banning their use, but if a country uses them to target civilian populations in built-up areas, schools or hospitals, then it could be convicted of a war crime under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

Q1: What are the Geneva Conventions?

They are a set of four treaties which include more than 400 articles, setting out detailed rules for the treatment of prisoners, protecting hospitals and medical staff, allowing humanitarian aid and prohibiting torture, rape and sexual violence. It was formalised in 1949 by the United Nations.

Source: Explainer: The Growing Use of Thermobaric Weapons