White Phosphorus: The Terrible Weapon All Nations Fear

White phosphorus causes fire and serious injury to humans. This is considered an incendiary weapon that works on the principle of chemical reaction.

What is white phosphorus?

 White phosphorus smoke is opened by the United States Army during an early morning patrol on November 6, 2004 on the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq.

White phosphorus was a chemical that was first used industrially. Because of their flammability on contact with air, they were used in the 19th century to make matches, and the chemical was manipulated by wealthy merchants.

Later, white phosphorus was used in a completely new field of military, from the First World War. Specifically, white phosphorus creates smoke screens to hide military operations during the day. While, at night, this chemical has the effect of illuminating the battlefield.

In addition, they were also used by countries as explosives, in destruction and in the production of incendiary bombs for mass use, parallel with the birth of military aviation.

 In the military, white phosphorus is often stuffed into bombs and bullets by countries

White phosphorus bombs were commonly used during World War II, especially by American troops in Europe against German armored troops.

Phosphorus is an element with a slightly yellow appearance, and ignites when exposed to air, reaching a temperature of about 800 degrees Celsius, and its vapor is formed from the highly corrosive, injurious phosphoric acid. Severe damage to organic tissues leads to third degree burns, and smoke has the potential to blind a person on contact with eyes.

 A US Air Force A-1E aircraft attacking with white phosphorus weapons on Vietnam in 1966

According to a non-governmental organization, the chemical poses a fire and explosion hazard and produces toxic gases. This element will "burn to the bone marrow" and the level of damage to humans is extremely large.

The consequences of this type of item on the people are especially terrible, because white phosphorus can cause fire and corrosion on more than 10% of the human body will cause death, in addition, human inhalation can also cause pulmonary edema. or lead to unconsciousness.

This is considered an incendiary weapon that works on the principle of chemical reaction (burns to the "bone marrow" when exposed to air).

 The use of white phosphorus in warfare is not entirely prohibited as long as it is not targeted at civilian or military targets near residential areas.

Due to its incendiary effects, the use of phosphorus in warfare is strictly regulated under international law such as Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which entered into force in December 1983 contained content about restricting the use of incendiary weapons, but not outright banning them.

Specifically, the Protocol stipulates that weapons using white phosphorus are "prohibited under all circumstances" against civilians, and when states have their purposes against military targets near military zones. residential.

The above document was signed by 115 countries. The Russian Federation and Ukraine ratified this Protocol III in 1982, under the Soviet Union.

Many conflicts in the world use white phosphorus

In the 21st century, several countries have been accused of using incendiary weapons, such as the US military, which was criticized for using a white phosphorus bomb in the November 2004 attack on Fallujah, regardless despite the presence of many civilians in this Iraqi city, suspected of being a support for terrorist groups.

In November 2005, the US Chief of Staff, Peter Pace, after a field trip, judged it "legal" to use white phosphorus bombs against insurgents in Iraq. "The use of these weapons is within the framework of the law of war," he said.

Rola Hallam, a doctor who treats victims of incendiary weapons in Syria, said in a report that white phosphorus caused fires much worse than any other type of fire or conventional burn.

"They can burn through anything. If they can burn through metal, what hope is there for human flesh?", he added.