Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the US Congress to block Turkey’s proposed transfer of tens of thousands of US-origin cluster munitions to Ukraine, warning that the weapons pose a long-term threat to civilians. The rights organization made the appeal on Wednesday, Aug. 12, after the US State Department notified Congress of Turkey’s proposed $256 million transfer of 12 M270 launchers and several types of cluster munitions to Ukraine.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Dumping obsolete cluster munitions into a conflict creates a humanitarian liability for civilians that is tragically foreseeable,” Nicole Widdersheim, HRW’s deputy Washington director, said. According to HRW, the proposed transfer includes 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 M26 rockets, and 47,000 M509A1 203mm artillery projectiles. Together, the weapons contain more than 10 million explosive submunitions. The proposed transfer includes: 70 M39 ATACMS missiles, each containing 950 M74 submunitions, for a total of 66,500; 2,524 M26 rockets, each containing 644 M77 DPICM submunitions, totaling 1.6 million; 47,000 M509A1 artillery projectiles, each containing 180 M42 DPICM submunitions, totaling 8.5 million. The weapons have been held in Turkish stockpiles for decades and were originally produced partly by Turkey under US licenses dating back to 1987, according to HRW. HRW said cluster munitions are particularly dangerous because they disperse numerous explosive submunitions over a wide area and can leave unexploded remnants that continue to threaten civilians after fighting ends. The organization noted that 112 countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of the weapons.