US to limit use of landmines, says White House

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The administration of US President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the US will be limiting the use of anti-personnel landmines in what it called "an important policy" change that reverses Donald Trump era rules on the deadly weapons.

"After conducting a comprehensive policy review, the United States is joining the vast majority of countries around the world in committing to limit the use of anti-personnel landmines (APL)," the White House said in a statement.

"These changes reflect the President’s belief that these weapons have disproportionate impact on civilians, including children, long after fighting has stopped, and that we need to curtail the use of APL worldwide," it added.

The new commitment will align the US' landmine policy outside of the Korean peninsula with requirements of the Ottawa Convention -- a treaty that bans the use, stockpiling and production of landmines, according to the statement.

In line with the new policy, the US will not develop, produce, acquire or export landmines. In addition, it will not use mines outside of the Korean Peninsula.

"The new policy announced today represents a further step to advance the humanitarian aims of the Ottawa Convention," the statement added.