Spain to pass legislation banning cluster bombs
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MADRID, Spain (AP) — Spain's defense minister says the country will pass legislation banning the production, use and storage of cluster bombs this month.

Carme Chacon says Spain will then proceed to destroy the 5,000 cluster bombs it possesses within two years.

Chacon says the measure will place "Spain at the head of countries that have agreed to eradicate cluster bombs."

The decision Tuesday follows the landmark treaty in Dublin, in May in which more than 100 countries agreed to ban cluster bombs within eight years.

Cluster bombs contain dozens to hundreds of "bomblets," which carpet a target with explosions. Many fail to detonate on impact and instead explode when civilians stumble across them days or years later.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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