Human Rights Watch said on August 15 its researchers had uncovered evidence that Russian aircraft dropped cluster bombs in populated areas in Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring dozens.

Russian aircraft dropped RBK-250 cluster bombs on the village of Ruisi in the Kareli district of Georgia on August 12, killing three civilians, it said.

On the same day, a cluster strike in the center of the town of Gori killed at least eight civilians, including a Dutch journalist and injured dozens, according to HRW.

“Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw,” Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at HRW, said. “Russia’s use of this weapon is not only deadly to civilians, but also an insult to international efforts to avoid a global humanitarian disaster of the kind caused by landmines.”