Cluster bomb toll mounts as displaced return

By Seth Meixner
Agence France-Presse

TYRE — Israeli cluster bombs dropped during a monthlong blitz against Hizbollah in southern Lebanon are taking an increasing toll on civilians trying to return home more than a week after the fighting ended, the UN and rights groups say.

"Every day we hear about casualties — it's a large number," said Dalya Farran, media officer for the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre in southern Lebanon.

"We're in an emergency situation," she said.

Several children have been among the 11 killed and 43 wounded by cluster bomb explosions since the ceasefire began on August 14, according to Lebanese military figures.

On Wednesday, three Lebanese bomb disposal experts were also killed by a cluster bomb in the village of Tebnin, some 15 kilometres from the Israeli border.