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White phosphorus (weapon)
Encyclopedia
White phosphorus is a material made from a common allotrope
of the chemical element
phosphorus
that is used in smoke, tracer
, illumination and incendiary
munitions. Other common names include WP, and the slang term "Willie Pete," which is dated from its use in Vietnam, and is still sometimes used in military jargon. As an incendiary weapon, white phosphorus burns fiercely and can set cloth, fuel, ammunition and other combustibles on fire, and cause serious burns or death.
In addition to its offensive capabilities, white phosphorus is also a highly efficient smoke-producing agent, burning quickly and causing an instant bank of smoke. As a result, smoke-producing white phosphorus munitions are very common, particularly as smoke grenades for infantry
, loaded in grenade launchers on tanks and other armored vehicles, or as part of the ammunition allotment for artillery
or mortars
. These create smoke screens to mask movement, position or the origin of fire from the enemy. White phosphorus is used in bomb
s, artillery
, mortars
, and short-range missile
s which burst into burning flakes of phosphorus upon impact.
White phosphorus is believed to have been first used by Fenian
arson
ists in the 19th century in the form of a solution in carbon disulfide
. When the carbon disulfide evaporated, the phosphorus would burst into flames, and probably also ignite the highly flammable carbon disulfide fumes. This mixture was known as "Fenian fire" and allegedly was used by disgruntled itinerant workers in Australia to cause delayed destruction of shabby sleeping quarters.
In 1916, during an intense ideological struggle over conscription for the First World War
, twelve members of the I.W.W.
, a radical union of workers who opposed conscription, were arrested and convicted for using or plotting to use incendiary materials, including phosphorus. It is believed that eight or nine men in this group, known as the Sydney Twelve
, had been framed by the police. Most were released in 1920 after an inquiry.
also used white phosphorus bombs against Kurdish
villagers and Al-Habbaniyah
in Al-Anbar province during the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920
.
In 1940, when the invasion of Britain seemed imminent, the phosphorus firm of Albright and Wilson
suggested that the British government use a material similar to Fenian fire in several expedient incendiary weapons. The only one fielded was the Grenade, No. 76 or Special Incendiary Phosphorus grenade, which consisted of a glass bottle filled with a mixture similar to Fenian fire, plus some latex
(see also Molotov cocktail
, Greek fire
). It came in two versions, one with a red cap intended to be thrown by hand, and a slightly stronger bottle with a green cap, intended to be launched from the Northover projector
(a crude 2.5 inch blackpowder grenade launcher
). These were improvised anti-tank weapons, hastily fielded in 1940 when the British were awaiting a German invasion after losing the bulk of their modern armaments in France in May 1940. Instructions on each crate of SIP grenades included the observations, among other things:
These weapons were generally regarded as presenting a danger to their own operators and were never deployed in combat.
At the start of the Normandy campaign, 20% of American 81 mm mortar rounds were white phosphorus. At least five American Medal of Honor
citations mention their recipients using white phosphorus grenades to clear enemy positions, and in the 1944 liberation of Cherbourg
alone, a single U.S. mortar battalion, the 87th, fired 11,899 white phosphorus rounds into the city. The U.S. Army and Marines used white phosphorus shells in 107-mm (4.2 inch) mortars. White phosphorus was widely credited by Allied soldiers for breaking up German infantry attacks and creating havoc among enemy troop concentrations during the latter part of the war.
Incendiary bombs were used extensively by the German, British and U.S. air forces against civilian populations and targets of military significance in civilian areas, including London, Hamburg
, and Dresden
. Late in the war, some of these bombs used white phosphorus (about 1-200 grams) in place of magnesium as the igniter for their flammable mixtures. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians was banned by signatory countries in the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Protocol III. The USA signed Protocols I and II on March 24, 1995 under the Clinton Administration (and the amended article II on May 24, 1999) and later Protocols III, IV, and V, on January 21, 2009 under the Obama Administration.
White phosporus munitions were used extensively in Korea
, Vietnam
and later by Russian forces in Chechnya
. According to GlobalSecurity.org
, during the December 1994 battle for Grozny
in Chechnya, every fourth or fifth Russian artillery or mortar round fired was a smoke or white phosphorus round.
In Iraq
, the Saddam Hussein
regime used white phosphorus, as well as chemical weapons that are scheduled in the Chemical Weapons Convention
, in the Halabja poison gas attack
during the Iran–Iraq War in 1988, according to the ANSA
news agency.
Another news report said "US intelligence" called WP a chemical weapon in a declassified Pentagon
report from February 1991:
were reported as early as April 2004:
However, a State Department press release of December 2004 denied any use of phosphorus as a weapon:
However, the statement was retracted in November 2005 with the following comments:
The article states that U.S. forces used white phosphorus rounds to flush out enemy fighters so that they could then be killed with high explosive rounds.
U.S. forces were specifically accused of using white phosphorus against human targets in the Sigfrido Ranucci's documentary film Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
, which aired on Italy's RaiNews24
in 2005. In the film, Giuliana Sgrena
takes interviews from refugees from Fallujah
about purported uses of white phosphorus against civilians. Jeff Englehart, a person interviewed in the film, claims to be a former US soldier who heard of white phosphorus being deployed as a weapon and saw its effect in the field.
Robert Holmes Tuttle, U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom
, stated in November 2005 that U.S. forces "do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons." However, on November 15, within a week of Ambassador Tuttle's statement, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable noted that the use of white phosphorus was conventional, that it was not illegal, and stated to the BBC
: "It has been used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants."
In particular,
White phosphorus use is legal for purposes such as illumination and obscuring smoke, and the Chemical Weapons Convention
does not list white phosphorus in its schedules of chemical weapons.
The March 2005 edition of the U.S. Army magazine Field Artillery
, contained an article on using white phosphorus as an "effective munition" for flushing out insurgents during the Fallujah attack of November 2004:
On November 30, 2005, General Peter Pace
defended use of WP, declaring that WP munitions were a "legitimate tool of the military", used to illuminate targets and create smokescreens, and that there were better weapons for killing people:
On June 22, 2007 New York Times
correspondent Michael R. Gordon was interviewed on National Public Radio in a story called "Baquba Residents Displaced by Insurgents" by Melissa Block and Michele Norris. In this interview, Gordon was asked about civilian casualties in Baquba, Iraq. He responded by saying "Yeah, there have been civilian casualties. I was just talking to our photographer and he had seen people who are hurt by phosphorus shells." The photographer was not identified in the interview and the report was not corroborated.
, Israel claimed that it had used phosphorus shells "against military targets in open ground" in south Lebanon. Israel clarified that its use of the white phosphorus bombs was permitted under international conventions.
President of Lebanon Émile Lahoud
claimed that phosphorus shells were used against civilians in Lebanon. The first Lebanese official complaint about the use of phosphorus came from Information Minister Ghazi Aridi.
reported, the type of shell used was the US made M825A1. The paper further reported that when confronted with photographic evidence of its stockpiles of the shells, an IDF spokeswoman insisted that the M825A1 is not a White Phosphorus ("WP") type, saying, "This is what we call a quiet shell - it is empty, it has no explosives and no white phosphorus. There is nothing inside it." The Times continued,
In its early statements the Israeli military repeatedly denied using white phosphorus, saying "We categorically deny the use of white phosphorus", and "The IDF acts only in accordance with what is permitted by international law and does not use white phosphorus." It eventually admitted its use and stopped using the shells, however, saying that a "media buzz" led to its decision to do so.
Numerous reports from human right groups during the war indicated that white phosphorus shells were being used by Israel. Human Rights Watch said shells exploded over populated civilian areas, including a crowded Palestinian refugee camp and a United Nations school where civilians were seeking refuge. Additionally, Human Rights Watch
said that white phosphorus injuries were suspected in the cases of ten burn victims. The International Red Cross stated that phosphorus weapons had been used in the conflict but would not comment publicly on the legality of Israel’s use of the weapon, pending further investigation, contrary to what had been attributed to the ICRC in a number of media reports.
Human Rights Watch
said its experts in the region had witnessed the use of white phosphorus. Kenneth Roth
, the organisation's executive director, added: "This is a chemical compound that burns structures and burns people. It should not be used in populated areas."
Amnesty International
said a fact-finding team found "indisputable evidence of the widespread use of white phosphorus" in crowded civilian residential areas of Gaza City and elsewhere in the territory. Donatella Rovera, the head of an Amnesty fact-finding mission to southern Israel and Gaza, said: "Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes."
On January 5 the Times reported that tell tale smoke associated with white phosphorus had been seen in areas of a shelling. On January 12 it was reported that more than 50 phosphorus burns victims were in Nasser Hospital. On January 16 the UNRWA headquarters was hit with phosphorus munitions. As a result of the hit, the compound was set ablaze.
Many other observers, including HRW military expert, reported seeing white phosphorus air bursts over Gaza City and the Jabalya refugee camp. The BBC published a photograph of two shells exploding over a densely populated area on 11 January.
The IDF
stated on January 13 that it "wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics."
On January 14, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz
claimed that Hamas had fired a white phosphorus mortar shell which exploded in an open area in the Eshkol
area in the western Negev
of southern Israel. No injuries or damage were reported by this newspaper. Contrary to the report however, which did not mention its source, official foreign press spokesman for the Israeli Police, Micky Rosenfeld
, said the shell had landed in a field near Sderot, also stating that no damage or injuries had occurred.
A day after the alleged attack, a researcher for Human Rights Watch
travelled to Sderot to investigate the claim. One resident said he had heard about a mortar shell, possibly with white phosphorus, landing in a field outside of town but could not specify where. Moreover, when pressed for information, Rosenfeld could give no further insight, telling Human Rights Watch that "all I have is what's in the press release." Local authorities in Sderot also told the researcher that they were unaware of the attack.
On 15 January, the United Nations
compound, housing numerous refugees in Gaza City, was struck by Israel
i white phosphorus artillery shells, setting fire to pallets of relief materials and igniting several large fuel storage tanks. A UN spokesperson indicated that there were difficulties in attempting to extinguish the fires because of the white phosphorus and stated "You can’t put it [white phosphorus] out with traditional methods such as fire extinguishers. You need sand but we do not have any sand in the compound." Senior Israeli defense officials maintain that the shelling using white phosphorus munitions was in response to Israeli military personnel being fired upon by Hamas fighters who were in proximity to the UN headquarters, and was used for smoke. The Israeli army investigated improper use of WP in the conflict, particularly in one incident in which 20 WP shells were fired in a built-up area of Beit Lahiya.
On 17 January, Peter Herby, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Arms Unit , confirmed the use of white phosphorus weapons by Israel
in Gaza
, outlined the rules applicable to phosphorus weapons and explained the ICRC's approach to the issue.
On January 20, Paul Wood
of the BBC
reports from Gaza on white phosphorus use in civilian areas. Amnesty team weapon expert Christopher Cobb-Smith, who witnessed the shelling by the IDF during the conflict, reported "we saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still-burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army."
On January 26, the Israel's Ministry of Defence
finally confirmed speculations about the use of white phosphorus in the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
On March 25, 2009, USA Based Human Rights Organization Human Rights Watch
published a 71 page report titled Rain of Fire, Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza and said that Israel's usage of the weapon was illegal.
The Israeli government released a report in July 2009 that confirmed that the IDF used white phosphorus in both exploding munitions and smoke projectiles. The report acknowledged the use of exploding munitions by Israeli ground and naval forces. The report argues that the use of these munitions was limited to unpopulated areas for marking and signaling and not as an anti-personnel weapon. The Israeli government report further stated that smoke screening projectiles were the majority of the munitions containing white phosphorus employed by the IDF and that these were very effective in that role. The report states that at no time did IDF forces have the objective of inflicting any harm on the civilian population.
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, urging the Council and the international community as a whole to put an end to impunity for violations of international law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 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 build-up areas". It also call for serious consideration to be given to the banning of its use as an obscurant.
HRW claimed in its report that instead of White phosphorus, the Israeli military had a non-lethal alternative at its disposal- smoke shells produced by Israel Military Industries
.
In 2010, Anchel Pfeffer of Haaretz claimed that the Israeli report to the UN included a section discussing two senior Israeli officers who were responsible for firing white phosphorus artillery shells on a United Nations
compound and were reprimanded earlier that year. This was later disproved. The officers where actually reprimanded for permitting artillery shot in that same combat, and Israel continued to claim that its use of phosphorus in that combat was only for smoke.
. The United States has accused Taliban militants of using white phosphorus weapons illegally on at least 44 occasions. In May 2009, Colonel Gregory Julian, a spokesman for General David McKiernan, the overall commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, confirmed that Western military forces in Afghanistan use white phosphorus in order to illuminate targets or as an incendiary to destroy bunkers and enemy equipment. The Afghan government later launched an investigation into the use of white phosphorus munitions.
Rocket attacks launched by militants out of Gaza into southern Israel have been reported to use white phosphorus as late as March 2011.
Additionally mortar shells containing WP were fired by Gaza militants at Kibutz Kerem Shalom in August 2011.
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Weight-for-weight, phosphorus is the most effective smoke-screening agent known, for two reasons: firstly, it absorbs most of the screening mass from the surrounding atmosphere
and secondly, the smoke
particles are an aerosol, a mist
of liquid droplets which are close to the ideal range of sizes for Mie scattering
of visible light. This effect has been likened to three dimensional
textured privacy glass—the smoke cloud does not simply obstruct an image, but thoroughly scrambles both visual and infrared radiation, interfering with infra-red optics and weapon-tracking systems, serving as a protection for military forces from guided weapons such as anti-tank missiles.
When phosphorus burns in air, it first forms diphosphorus pentoxide (which exists as tetraphosphorus decoxide except at very high temperatures):
Diphosphorus pentoxide is extremely hygroscopic and quickly absorbs even minute traces of moisture to form liquid droplets of phosphoric acid
:
Since an atom
of phosphorus has an atomic mass
of 31 but a molecule
of phosphoric acid has a molecular mass
of 98, the cloud is already 68% by mass derived from the atmosphere (i.e. 3.2 kilograms of smoke for every kilogram of WP); it may absorb more because phosphoric acid and its variants are hygroscopic. Given time, the droplets will continue to absorb more water, growing larger and more dilute until they reach equilibrium with the local water vapour pressure. In practice, the droplets quickly reach a range of sizes suitable for scattering visible light and then start to dissipate from wind or convection.
Because of the great weight efficiency of white phosphorus smoke, it is particularly suited for applications where weight is highly restricted, such as hand grenades and mortar
bombs. An additional advantage for hand smoke grenades—which are more likely to be used in an emergency—is that the WP smoke clouds form in a fraction of a second. Because WP is also pyrophoric, most munitions of this type have a simple burster charge to split open the casing and spray fragments of WP through the air, where they ignite spontaneously and leave a trail of rapidly thickening smoke behind each particle. The appearance of this cloud forming is easily recognised; one sees a shower of burning particles spraying outward, followed closely by distinctive streamers of white smoke, which rapidly coalesce into a fluffy, very pure white cloud (unless illuminated by a coloured light source).
Various disadvantages of white phosphorus are discussed below, but one which is particular to smoke-screening is "pillaring". 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 white phosphorus 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 white phosphorus-soaked felt pads (which also burn more slowly, and pose a reduced risk of incendiarism) and PWP, or plasticised white phosphorus.
Incandescent particles of WP cast off by a WP weapon's initial explosion
can produce extensive, deep second and third degree burns. One reason why this occurs is the tendency of the element to stick to the skin
. Phosphorus burns carry a greater risk of mortality than other forms of burns due to the absorption of phosphorus into the body through the burned area, resulting in liver, heart and kidney damage, and in some cases multiple organ failure
. These weapons are particularly dangerous to exposed people because white phosphorus continues to burn unless deprived of oxygen or until it is completely consumed. In some cases, burns are limited to areas of exposed skin because the smaller WP particles do not burn completely through personal clothing before being consumed.
. Most forms of the smoke are not hazardous in the likely concentrations produced by a battlefield smoke shell. Exposure to heavy smoke concentrations of any kind for an extended period (particularly if near the source of emission) does have the potential to cause illness or even death. White phosphorus smoke irritates the eyes, mucous membranes of the nose, and respiratory tract
in moderate concentrations, while higher concentrations may produce severe burns. However, no casualties have been recorded from the effects of white phosphorus smoke alone in combat operations and there are no confirmed deaths resulting from exposure to phosphorus smoke. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
has set an acute inhalation Minimum Risk Level (MRL) for white phosphorus smoke of 0.02 mg/m³, the same as fuel oil fumes. By contrast, the chemical weapon mustard gas is 30 times more potent: 0.0007 mg/m³.
It may also cause liver, heart or kidney damage. There are reports of individuals with a history of oral ingestion who have passed phosphorus-laden stool ("smoking stool syndrome").
defines an incendiary weapon as 'any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target'. The same protocol prohibits the use of said incendiary weapons against civilians (already forbidden by the Geneva Conventions
) or in civilian areas.
However, the use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty. There is a debate on whether white phosphorus should be considered a chemical weapon and thus be outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention
(CWC) which went into effect in April 1997. The convention is meant to prohibit weapons that are "dependent on the use of the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare" (Article II, Definitions, 9, "Purposes not Prohibited" c.).
The convention defines a "toxic chemical" as a chemical "which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals" (CWC, II). An annex lists chemicals that fall under this definition and WP is not listed in the Schedules of chemical weapons or precursors.
In an 2005 interview with RAI
, Peter Kaiser, spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(an organization overseeing the CWC and reporting directly to the UN General Assembly), questioned whether the weapon should fall under the convention's provisions:
Kaiser was a staff spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
.
The OPCW, using member votes, creates Schedules of chemical weapons or dual-use chemicals of concern and white phosphorus is not in any of these schedules.
The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, not the Chemical Weapons Convention, goes on, in its Protocol III, to prohibit the use of all air-delivered incendiary weapons against civilian populations, or for indiscriminate incendiary attacks against military forces co-located with civilians.
However, that protocol also specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effects are secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has often been read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. Several countries, most notably Israel, are not signatories to Protocol III.
The legal position however, is not the only consideration in any war. For instance, concerning the U.S. use of white phosphorus in Iraq, the British Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, said
states that "It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP against personnel targets." At the same time, other field manuals discuss the use of white phosphorus against personnel.
Though white phosphorus is still used in modern armed conflict, it is regulated by international humanitarian law, or the law of war.
Allotropes of phosphorus
Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes; the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known. Gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus.-White phosphorus:...
of the chemical element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
that is used in smoke, tracer
Tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition are bullets that are built with a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited by the burning powder, the phosphorus tail burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye...
, illumination and incendiary
Incendiary ammunition
-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...
munitions. Other common names include WP, and the slang term "Willie Pete," which is dated from its use in Vietnam, and is still sometimes used in military jargon. As an incendiary weapon, white phosphorus burns fiercely and can set cloth, fuel, ammunition and other combustibles on fire, and cause serious burns or death.
In addition to its offensive capabilities, white phosphorus is also a highly efficient smoke-producing agent, burning quickly and causing an instant bank of smoke. As a result, smoke-producing white phosphorus munitions are very common, particularly as smoke grenades for infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, loaded in grenade launchers on tanks and other armored vehicles, or as part of the ammunition allotment for artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
or mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
. These create smoke screens to mask movement, position or the origin of fire from the enemy. White phosphorus is used in bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
, and short-range missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s which burst into burning flakes of phosphorus upon impact.
History
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
ists in the 19th century in the form of a solution in carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide is a colorless volatile liquid with the formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent...
. When the carbon disulfide evaporated, the phosphorus would burst into flames, and probably also ignite the highly flammable carbon disulfide fumes. This mixture was known as "Fenian fire" and allegedly was used by disgruntled itinerant workers in Australia to cause delayed destruction of shabby sleeping quarters.
In 1916, during an intense ideological struggle over conscription for the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, twelve members of the I.W.W.
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, a radical union of workers who opposed conscription, were arrested and convicted for using or plotting to use incendiary materials, including phosphorus. It is believed that eight or nine men in this group, known as the Sydney Twelve
Sydney Twelve
The Sydney Twelve were members of the Industrial Workers of the World arrested on 23 September 1916 in Sydney, Australia, and charged with treason under the Treason Felony Act , arson, sedition and forgery....
, had been framed by the police. Most were released in 1920 after an inquiry.
World War I, the inter-war period and World War II
The British Army introduced the first factory-built WP grenades in late 1916. During World War II, white phosphorus mortar bombs, shells, rockets and grenades were used extensively by American, Commonwealth, and, to a lesser extent, Japanese forces, in both smoke-generating and antipersonnel roles. The British militaryRAF Iraq Command
Iraq Command was the RAF commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until 1941 when it was replaced by AHQ Iraq...
also used white phosphorus bombs against Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
villagers and Al-Habbaniyah
Habbaniyah
Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya is a city in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq.-References:...
in Al-Anbar province during the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920
Iraqi revolt against the British
The Iraqi Revolt against the British , or the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations of both Sunni and Shia, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman army, against the policies of British Acting Civil Commissioner Sir...
.
In 1940, when the invasion of Britain seemed imminent, the phosphorus firm of Albright and Wilson
Albright and Wilson
Albright and Wilson was founded in 1856 as a United Kingdom manufacturer of potassium chlorate and white phosphorus for the match industry. For much of its first 100 years of existence, phosphorus-derived chemicals formed the majority of its products....
suggested that the British government use a material similar to Fenian fire in several expedient incendiary weapons. The only one fielded was the Grenade, No. 76 or Special Incendiary Phosphorus grenade, which consisted of a glass bottle filled with a mixture similar to Fenian fire, plus some latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
(see also Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
, Greek fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
). It came in two versions, one with a red cap intended to be thrown by hand, and a slightly stronger bottle with a green cap, intended to be launched from the Northover projector
Northover projector
The Projector, 2.5 inch—more commonly known as the Northover Projector—was an ad hoc anti-tank weapon used by the British Army and Home Guard during the Second World War...
(a crude 2.5 inch blackpowder grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
). These were improvised anti-tank weapons, hastily fielded in 1940 when the British were awaiting a German invasion after losing the bulk of their modern armaments in France in May 1940. Instructions on each crate of SIP grenades included the observations, among other things:
- Store bombs (preferably in cases) in cool places, under water if possible.
- Stringent precautions must be taken to avoid cracking bombs during handling.
These weapons were generally regarded as presenting a danger to their own operators and were never deployed in combat.
At the start of the Normandy campaign, 20% of American 81 mm mortar rounds were white phosphorus. At least five American Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
citations mention their recipients using white phosphorus grenades to clear enemy positions, and in the 1944 liberation of Cherbourg
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
alone, a single U.S. mortar battalion, the 87th, fired 11,899 white phosphorus rounds into the city. The U.S. Army and Marines used white phosphorus shells in 107-mm (4.2 inch) mortars. White phosphorus was widely credited by Allied soldiers for breaking up German infantry attacks and creating havoc among enemy troop concentrations during the latter part of the war.
Incendiary bombs were used extensively by the German, British and U.S. air forces against civilian populations and targets of military significance in civilian areas, including London, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. Late in the war, some of these bombs used white phosphorus (about 1-200 grams) in place of magnesium as the igniter for their flammable mixtures. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians was banned by signatory countries in the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980 and entered into force in December 1983, seeks to prohibit or restrict the use of certain conventional weapons which are considered excessively injurious or whose effects are indiscriminate.The...
Protocol III. The USA signed Protocols I and II on March 24, 1995 under the Clinton Administration (and the amended article II on May 24, 1999) and later Protocols III, IV, and V, on January 21, 2009 under the Obama Administration.
Later uses
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and later by Russian forces in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. According to GlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
, during the December 1994 battle for Grozny
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
in Chechnya, every fourth or fifth Russian artillery or mortar round fired was a smoke or white phosphorus round.
In Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, the Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
regime used white phosphorus, as well as chemical weapons that are scheduled in the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
, in the Halabja poison gas attack
Halabja poison gas attack
The Halabja poison gas attack , also known as Halabja massacre or Bloody Friday, was a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people that took place on March 16, 1988, during the closing days of the Iran–Iraq War, when chemical weapons were used by the Iraqi government forces in the Kurdish town of...
during the Iran–Iraq War in 1988, according to the ANSA
ANSA
ANSA may refer to:* ANSA, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs , also sometimes abbreviated NSA*Armed non-state actors, a term used in political science*Ansa *Artists for a new South AfricaTechnology:...
news agency.
Another news report said "US intelligence" called WP a chemical weapon in a declassified Pentagon
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagram is an example of a self-intersecting pentagon.- Regular pentagons :In a regular pentagon, all sides are equal in length and...
report from February 1991:
- "Iraqi forces loyal to President Saddam may have possibly used white phosphorus chemical weapons against KurdishIraqi KurdistanIraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
rebels and the populace in ErbilArbilArbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
and Dohuk. The WP chemical was delivered by artillery rounds and helicopter gunships."
Use in Iraq (2004)
Use of white phosphorus against enemy areas in FallujahFallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
were reported as early as April 2004:
- The boom kicked dust around the pit as they ran through the drill again and again, sending a mixture of burning white phosphorus and high explosives they call "shake 'n' bake" into a cluster of buildings where insurgents have been spotted all week.
However, a State Department press release of December 2004 denied any use of phosphorus as a weapon:
- U.S. forces have used [phosphorus shells] very sparingly in Fallujah, for illumination purposes. They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters.
However, the statement was retracted in November 2005 with the following comments:
- We have learned that some of the information we were provided [in the above paragraph] is incorrect. White phosphorus shells, which produce smoke, were used in Fallujah not for illumination but for screening purposes, i.e., obscuring troop movements and, according to an article in Field ArtilleryField Artillery (magazine)Field Artillery is a discontinued bimonthly magazine on the subject of field artillery, published from 1911 to 2007. It was published by the US Field Artillery Association, Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was an official publication of the United States Army Field Artillery Corps. Its intended...
magazine "as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes…."
The article states that U.S. forces used white phosphorus rounds to flush out enemy fighters so that they could then be killed with high explosive rounds.
U.S. forces were specifically accused of using white phosphorus against human targets in the Sigfrido Ranucci's documentary film Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
-War crimes:The primary theme of the film is its assertion of a case for war crimes committed by the United States in its military offensive against Fallujah in Iraq...
, which aired on Italy's RaiNews24
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
in 2005. In the film, Giuliana Sgrena
Giuliana Sgrena
Giuliana Sgrena is an Italian journalist who works for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto and the German weekly Die Zeit. While working in Iraq, she was kidnapped by insurgents on February 4, 2005. After her release on March 4, 2005, Sgrena and the two Italian intelligence officers who...
takes interviews from refugees from Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
about purported uses of white phosphorus against civilians. Jeff Englehart, a person interviewed in the film, claims to be a former US soldier who heard of white phosphorus being deployed as a weapon and saw its effect in the field.
Robert Holmes Tuttle, U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, stated in November 2005 that U.S. forces "do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons." However, on November 15, within a week of Ambassador Tuttle's statement, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable noted that the use of white phosphorus was conventional, that it was not illegal, and stated to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
: "It has been used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants."
In particular,
- Venable pointed out that white phosphorus was effective against enemy forces in covered positions that were protected from high explosives. "One technique is to fire a white phosphorus round into the position because the combined effects of the fire and smoke—and in some case the terror brought about by the explosion on the ground—will drive them out of the holes so that you can kill them with high explosives.
White phosphorus use is legal for purposes such as illumination and obscuring smoke, and the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
does not list white phosphorus in its schedules of chemical weapons.
The March 2005 edition of the U.S. Army magazine Field Artillery
Field Artillery (magazine)
Field Artillery is a discontinued bimonthly magazine on the subject of field artillery, published from 1911 to 2007. It was published by the US Field Artillery Association, Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was an official publication of the United States Army Field Artillery Corps. Its intended...
, contained an article on using white phosphorus as an "effective munition" for flushing out insurgents during the Fallujah attack of November 2004:
- "WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE (High Explosive) Rounds. We fired ‘shake and bake’ missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out."
On November 30, 2005, General Peter Pace
Peter Pace
Peter Pace is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine appointed to the United States' highest-ranking military office. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Pace succeeded U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers on...
defended use of WP, declaring that WP munitions were a "legitimate tool of the military", used to illuminate targets and create smokescreens, and that there were better weapons for killing people:
- It is well within the law of war to use those weapons as they're being used, for marking and for screening... A bullet goes through skin even faster than white phosphorus does".
On June 22, 2007 New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
correspondent Michael R. Gordon was interviewed on National Public Radio in a story called "Baquba Residents Displaced by Insurgents" by Melissa Block and Michele Norris. In this interview, Gordon was asked about civilian casualties in Baquba, Iraq. He responded by saying "Yeah, there have been civilian casualties. I was just talking to our photographer and he had seen people who are hurt by phosphorus shells." The photographer was not identified in the interview and the report was not corroborated.
Israel-Lebanon conflict (2006)
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
, Israel claimed that it had used phosphorus shells "against military targets in open ground" in south Lebanon. Israel clarified that its use of the white phosphorus bombs was permitted under international conventions.
President of Lebanon Émile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
claimed that phosphorus shells were used against civilians in Lebanon. The first Lebanese official complaint about the use of phosphorus came from Information Minister Ghazi Aridi.
Gaza War (2008-2009)
The Israeli military openly used white phosphorus shells in the Gaza War, which were fired from 155mm artillery guns. As The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported, the type of shell used was the US made M825A1. The paper further reported that when confronted with photographic evidence of its stockpiles of the shells, an IDF spokeswoman insisted that the M825A1 is not a White Phosphorus ("WP") type, saying, "This is what we call a quiet shell - it is empty, it has no explosives and no white phosphorus. There is nothing inside it." The Times continued,
- Neil Gibson, technical adviser to Jane's Missiles and Rockets, insisted that the M825A1 was a WP round. “The M825A1 is an improved model. The WP does not fill the shell but is impregnated into 116 felt wedges which, once dispersed [by a high-explosive charge], start to burn within four to five seconds. They then burn for five to ten minutes. The smoke screen produced is extremely effective,” he said.
- The shell is not defined as an incendiary weapon by the Third Protocol to the Convention on Conventional Weapons because its principal use is to produce smoke to protect troops. However, Marc Galasco, of Human Rights Watch, said: “Recognising the significant incidental incendiary effect that white phosphorus creates, there is great concern that Israel is failing to take all feasible steps to avoid civilian loss of life and property by using WP in densely populated urban areas. This concern is amplified given the technique evidenced in media photographs of air-bursting WP projectiles at relatively low levels, seemingly to maximise its incendiary effect.
- He added, however, that Human Rights Watch had no evidence that Israel was using incendiaries as weapons.
In its early statements the Israeli military repeatedly denied using white phosphorus, saying "We categorically deny the use of white phosphorus", and "The IDF acts only in accordance with what is permitted by international law and does not use white phosphorus." It eventually admitted its use and stopped using the shells, however, saying that a "media buzz" led to its decision to do so.
Numerous reports from human right groups during the war indicated that white phosphorus shells were being used by Israel. Human Rights Watch said shells exploded over populated civilian areas, including a crowded Palestinian refugee camp and a United Nations school where civilians were seeking refuge. Additionally, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
said that white phosphorus injuries were suspected in the cases of ten burn victims. The International Red Cross stated that phosphorus weapons had been used in the conflict but would not comment publicly on the legality of Israel’s use of the weapon, pending further investigation, contrary to what had been attributed to the ICRC in a number of media reports.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
said its experts in the region had witnessed the use of white phosphorus. Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth is an American attorney and has been the executive director of Human Rights Watch since 1993.-Background:Kenneth Roth, a graduate of Yale Law School and Brown University, was drawn to human rights causes through his Jewish father's experience of fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938...
, the organisation's executive director, added: "This is a chemical compound that burns structures and burns people. It should not be used in populated areas."
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
said a fact-finding team found "indisputable evidence of the widespread use of white phosphorus" in crowded civilian residential areas of Gaza City and elsewhere in the territory. Donatella Rovera, the head of an Amnesty fact-finding mission to southern Israel and Gaza, said: "Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes."
On January 5 the Times reported that tell tale smoke associated with white phosphorus had been seen in areas of a shelling. On January 12 it was reported that more than 50 phosphorus burns victims were in Nasser Hospital. On January 16 the UNRWA headquarters was hit with phosphorus munitions. As a result of the hit, the compound was set ablaze.
Many other observers, including HRW military expert, reported seeing white phosphorus air bursts over Gaza City and the Jabalya refugee camp. The BBC published a photograph of two shells exploding over a densely populated area on 11 January.
The IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
stated on January 13 that it "wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics."
On January 14, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
claimed that Hamas had fired a white phosphorus mortar shell which exploded in an open area in the Eshkol
Eshkol Regional Council
The Eshcol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional...
area in the western Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
of southern Israel. No injuries or damage were reported by this newspaper. Contrary to the report however, which did not mention its source, official foreign press spokesman for the Israeli Police, Micky Rosenfeld
Micky Rosenfeld
Chief Inspector Micky Rosenfeld is the foreign press spokesman for the Israel Police. He was appointed to this position as an Inspector in 2005 after serving for eight years as a combat officer in the Yamam counter-terrorism unit. By 2008 he had been promoted to the rank of Chief...
, said the shell had landed in a field near Sderot, also stating that no damage or injuries had occurred.
A day after the alleged attack, a researcher for Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
travelled to Sderot to investigate the claim. One resident said he had heard about a mortar shell, possibly with white phosphorus, landing in a field outside of town but could not specify where. Moreover, when pressed for information, Rosenfeld could give no further insight, telling Human Rights Watch that "all I have is what's in the press release." Local authorities in Sderot also told the researcher that they were unaware of the attack.
On 15 January, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
compound, housing numerous refugees in Gaza City, was struck by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i white phosphorus artillery shells, setting fire to pallets of relief materials and igniting several large fuel storage tanks. A UN spokesperson indicated that there were difficulties in attempting to extinguish the fires because of the white phosphorus and stated "You can’t put it [white phosphorus] out with traditional methods such as fire extinguishers. You need sand but we do not have any sand in the compound." Senior Israeli defense officials maintain that the shelling using white phosphorus munitions was in response to Israeli military personnel being fired upon by Hamas fighters who were in proximity to the UN headquarters, and was used for smoke. The Israeli army investigated improper use of WP in the conflict, particularly in one incident in which 20 WP shells were fired in a built-up area of Beit Lahiya.
On 17 January, Peter Herby, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Arms Unit , confirmed the use of white phosphorus weapons by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, outlined the rules applicable to phosphorus weapons and explained the ICRC's approach to the issue.
On January 20, Paul Wood
Paul Wood
Paul Wood is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Warrington Wolves of Super League.Wood played for Warrington in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final victory over the Leeds Rhinos....
of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reports from Gaza on white phosphorus use in civilian areas. Amnesty team weapon expert Christopher Cobb-Smith, who witnessed the shelling by the IDF during the conflict, reported "we saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still-burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army."
On January 26, the Israel's Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defense (Israel)
The Ministry of Defence of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats...
finally confirmed speculations about the use of white phosphorus in the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
On March 25, 2009, USA Based Human Rights Organization Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
published a 71 page report titled Rain of Fire, Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza and said that Israel's usage of the weapon was illegal.
White phosphorus munitions did not kill the most civilians in Gaza – many more died from missiles, bombs, heavy artillery, tank shells, and small arms fire – but their use in densely populated neighborhoods, including downtown Gaza City, violated international humanitarian law (the laws of war), which requires taking all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm and prohibits indiscriminate attacks.
The Israeli government released a report in July 2009 that confirmed that the IDF used white phosphorus in both exploding munitions and smoke projectiles. The report acknowledged the use of exploding munitions by Israeli ground and naval forces. The report argues that the use of these munitions was limited to unpopulated areas for marking and signaling and not as an anti-personnel weapon. The Israeli government report further stated that smoke screening projectiles were the majority of the munitions containing white phosphorus employed by the IDF and that these were very effective in that role. The report states that at no time did IDF forces have the objective of inflicting any harm on the civilian population.
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, urging the Council and the international community as a whole to put an end to impunity for violations of international law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 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 build-up areas". It also call for serious consideration to be given to the banning of its use as an obscurant.
HRW claimed in its report that instead of White phosphorus, the Israeli military had a non-lethal alternative at its disposal- smoke shells produced by Israel Military Industries
Israel Military Industries
Israel Weapons Industries , formerly the "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. is an Israeli firearms manufacturer. In 2005, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized....
.
In 2010, Anchel Pfeffer of Haaretz claimed that the Israeli report to the UN included a section discussing two senior Israeli officers who were responsible for firing white phosphorus artillery shells on a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
compound and were reprimanded earlier that year. This was later disproved. The officers where actually reprimanded for permitting artillery shot in that same combat, and Israel continued to claim that its use of phosphorus in that combat was only for smoke.
Afghanistan (2009)
There are confirmed cases of white phosphorus burns on bodies of civilians wounded in Afghanistan US-Taliban clashes near BagramBagram
Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
. The United States has accused Taliban militants of using white phosphorus weapons illegally on at least 44 occasions. In May 2009, Colonel Gregory Julian, a spokesman for General David McKiernan, the overall commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, confirmed that Western military forces in Afghanistan use white phosphorus in order to illuminate targets or as an incendiary to destroy bunkers and enemy equipment. The Afghan government later launched an investigation into the use of white phosphorus munitions.
Use in Yemen (2009)
Houthi fighters in Yemen claimed Saudi warplanes dropped phosphorus bombs on villages in north Yemen in November 2009. The Saudi government denied military use of phosphorus munitions against the rebels, saying they were flares, not phosphorus.Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2010-2011)
In September, 2010, Palestinian militants fired two mortar shells containing white phosphorus into Israel from the Gaza Strip.Rocket attacks launched by militants out of Gaza into southern Israel have been reported to use white phosphorus as late as March 2011.
Additionally mortar shells containing WP were fired by Gaza militants at Kibutz Kerem Shalom in August 2011.
Smoke-screening properties
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
and secondly, the smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
particles are an aerosol, a mist
Mist
Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the...
of liquid droplets which are close to the ideal range of sizes for Mie scattering
Mie theory
The Mie solution to Maxwell's equations describes the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a sphere...
of visible light. This effect has been likened to three dimensional
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
textured privacy glass—the smoke cloud does not simply obstruct an image, but thoroughly scrambles both visual and infrared radiation, interfering with infra-red optics and weapon-tracking systems, serving as a protection for military forces from guided weapons such as anti-tank missiles.
When phosphorus burns in air, it first forms diphosphorus pentoxide (which exists as tetraphosphorus decoxide except at very high temperatures):
- P4 + 5 O2 → 2 P2O5
Diphosphorus pentoxide is extremely hygroscopic and quickly absorbs even minute traces of moisture to form liquid droplets of phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. Orthophosphoric acid molecules can combine with themselves to form a variety of compounds which are also referred to as phosphoric acids, but in a more general way...
:
- 2 P2O5 + 6 H2O → 4 H3PO4 (also forms polyphosphoric acidsPolyphosphateTriphosphates are salts or esters of polymeric oxyanions formed from tetrahedral PO4 structural units linked together by sharing oxygen atoms. When two corners are shared the polyphosphate may have a linear chain structure or a cyclic ring structure. In biology the polyphosphate esters AMP, ADP...
such as pyrophosphoric acidPyrophosphoric acidPyrophosphoric acid, also known under the name diphosphoric acid, is colorless, odorless, hygroscopic and is soluble in water, diethyl ether, and ethyl alcohol. It is produced from phosphoric acid by dehydration. Pyrophosphoric acid slowly hydrolyzes in the presence of water into phosphoric...
, H4P2O7)
Since an atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
of phosphorus has an atomic mass
Atomic mass
The atomic mass is the mass of a specific isotope, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. The atomic mass is the total mass of protons, neutrons and electrons in a single atom....
of 31 but a molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
of phosphoric acid has a molecular mass
Molecular mass
The molecular mass of a substance is the mass of one molecule of that substance, in unified atomic mass unit u...
of 98, the cloud is already 68% by mass derived from the atmosphere (i.e. 3.2 kilograms of smoke for every kilogram of WP); it may absorb more because phosphoric acid and its variants are hygroscopic. Given time, the droplets will continue to absorb more water, growing larger and more dilute until they reach equilibrium with the local water vapour pressure. In practice, the droplets quickly reach a range of sizes suitable for scattering visible light and then start to dissipate from wind or convection.
Because of the great weight efficiency of white phosphorus smoke, it is particularly suited for applications where weight is highly restricted, such as hand grenades and mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
bombs. An additional advantage for hand smoke grenades—which are more likely to be used in an emergency—is that the WP smoke clouds form in a fraction of a second. Because WP is also pyrophoric, most munitions of this type have a simple burster charge to split open the casing and spray fragments of WP through the air, where they ignite spontaneously and leave a trail of rapidly thickening smoke behind each particle. The appearance of this cloud forming is easily recognised; one sees a shower of burning particles spraying outward, followed closely by distinctive streamers of white smoke, which rapidly coalesce into a fluffy, very pure white cloud (unless illuminated by a coloured light source).
Various disadvantages of white phosphorus are discussed below, but one which is particular to smoke-screening is "pillaring". 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 white phosphorus 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 white phosphorus-soaked felt pads (which also burn more slowly, and pose a reduced risk of incendiarism) and PWP, or plasticised white phosphorus.
Effects on people
White phosphorus can cause injuries and even death in three ways: by burning deep into tissue, by being inhaled as a smoke, and by being ingested. Extensive exposure by burning and ingestion is fatal.Burning
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
can produce extensive, deep second and third degree burns. One reason why this occurs is the tendency of the element to stick to the skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. Phosphorus burns carry a greater risk of mortality than other forms of burns due to the absorption of phosphorus into the body through the burned area, resulting in liver, heart and kidney damage, and in some cases multiple organ failure
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome ', previously known as multiple organ failure or multisystem organ failure , is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis...
. These weapons are particularly dangerous to exposed people because white phosphorus continues to burn unless deprived of oxygen or until it is completely consumed. In some cases, burns are limited to areas of exposed skin because the smaller WP particles do not burn completely through personal clothing before being consumed.
Smoke inhalation
Burning white phosphorus produces a hot, dense, white smoke consisting mostly of phosphorus pentoxidePhosphorus pentoxide
Phosphorus pentoxide is a chemical compound with molecular formula P4O10 . This white crystalline solid is the anhydride of phosphoric acid. It is a powerful desiccant.-Structure:...
. Most forms of the smoke are not hazardous in the likely concentrations produced by a battlefield smoke shell. Exposure to heavy smoke concentrations of any kind for an extended period (particularly if near the source of emission) does have the potential to cause illness or even death. White phosphorus smoke irritates the eyes, mucous membranes of the nose, and respiratory tract
Respiratory tract
In humans the respiratory tract is the part of the anatomy involved with the process of respiration.The respiratory tract is divided into 3 segments:*Upper respiratory tract: nose and nasal passages, paranasal sinuses, and throat or pharynx...
in moderate concentrations, while higher concentrations may produce severe burns. However, no casualties have been recorded from the effects of white phosphorus smoke alone in combat operations and there are no confirmed deaths resulting from exposure to phosphorus smoke. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is a federal public health agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The agency focuses on minimizing human health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances...
has set an acute inhalation Minimum Risk Level (MRL) for white phosphorus smoke of 0.02 mg/m³, the same as fuel oil fumes. By contrast, the chemical weapon mustard gas is 30 times more potent: 0.0007 mg/m³.
Oral ingestion
The accepted lethal dose when white phosphorus is ingested orally is 1 mg per kg of body weight, although the ingestion of as little as 15 mg has resulted in death.It may also cause liver, heart or kidney damage. There are reports of individuals with a history of oral ingestion who have passed phosphorus-laden stool ("smoking stool syndrome").
Arms control status and military regulations
There are multiple international laws that could be seen to regulate white phosphorus use. Article 1 of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional WeaponsConvention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980 and entered into force in December 1983, seeks to prohibit or restrict the use of certain conventional weapons which are considered excessively injurious or whose effects are indiscriminate.The...
defines an incendiary weapon as 'any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target'. The same protocol prohibits the use of said incendiary weapons against civilians (already forbidden by the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
) or in civilian areas.
However, the use against military targets outside civilian areas is not explicitly banned by any treaty. There is a debate on whether white phosphorus should be considered a chemical weapon and thus be outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
(CWC) which went into effect in April 1997. The convention is meant to prohibit weapons that are "dependent on the use of the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare" (Article II, Definitions, 9, "Purposes not Prohibited" c.).
The convention defines a "toxic chemical" as a chemical "which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals" (CWC, II). An annex lists chemicals that fall under this definition and WP is not listed in the Schedules of chemical weapons or precursors.
In an 2005 interview with RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, Peter Kaiser, spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...
(an organization overseeing the CWC and reporting directly to the UN General Assembly), questioned whether the weapon should fall under the convention's provisions:
- No it's not forbidden by the CWC if it is used within the context of a military application which 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 the way it is in fact applied, any chemicals used against humans or animals that cause harm or death through the toxic properties of the chemical are considered chemical weapons".
Kaiser was a staff spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...
.
The OPCW, using member votes, creates Schedules of chemical weapons or dual-use chemicals of concern and white phosphorus is not in any of these schedules.
The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, not the Chemical Weapons Convention, goes on, in its Protocol III, to prohibit the use of all air-delivered incendiary weapons against civilian populations, or for indiscriminate incendiary attacks against military forces co-located with civilians.
However, that protocol also specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effects are secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has often been read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. Several countries, most notably Israel, are not signatories to Protocol III.
The legal position however, is not the only consideration in any war. For instance, concerning the U.S. use of white phosphorus in Iraq, the British Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, said
- "The use of this weapon may technically have been legal, but its effects are such that it will hand a propaganda victory to the insurgency. The denial of use followed by the admission will simply convince the doubters that there was something to hide".
Military regulations
Within the US Army, there appears to be conflicting advice on the use of WP against humans. According to the field manual on the Rule of Land Warfare, "The use of weapons which employ fire, such as tracer ammunition, flamethrowers, napalm and other incendiary agents, against targets requiring their use is not violative of international law." However, the 11 year old ST 100-3 Battle Book, a student text published by the US Command and General Staff College at Fort LeavenworthFort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
states that "It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP against personnel targets." At the same time, other field manuals discuss the use of white phosphorus against personnel.
Though white phosphorus is still used in modern armed conflict, it is regulated by international humanitarian law, or the law of war.
See also
- Fallujah, The Hidden MassacreFallujah, The Hidden Massacre-War crimes:The primary theme of the film is its assertion of a case for war crimes committed by the United States in its military offensive against Fallujah in Iraq...
- Mark 77 bombMark 77 bombThe Mark 77 bomb is a US 750-lb air-dropped incendiary bomb carrying of a fuel gel mix which is the direct successor to napalm.The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States military...
- PhosphorusPhosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
- White phosphorus use in IraqWhite phosphorus use in IraqThere have been several cases in which white phosphorus has been used or has been claimed to have been used as an anti-personnel weapon in Iraq by the Saddam Hussein regime and the United States military...
External links
- The Legality of the Use of White Phosphorus by the United States Military During the 2004 Fallujah Assaults (Roman Reyhani)
- Globalsecurity.org on WP (including use during the Battle of FallujahOperation Phantom FuryThe Second Battle of Fallujah was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S...
and during the December 1994 battle for GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
during the First Chechen WarFirst Chechen WarThe First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
)