UN rights office has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A satellite image shows a close up view of fires in an industrial area, in southern Chernihiv, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Ukraine, March 10, 2022. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it has received "credible reports" of several cases of Russian forces using cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine, adding that indiscriminate use of such weapons might amount to war crimes.

"Due to their wide area effects, the use of cluster munitions in populated areas is incompatible with the international humanitarian law principles governing the conduct of hostilities," spokesperson Liz Throssell told Geneva-based journalists.