White phosphorus is routinely held by militaries around the world and is used legally in combat as a smokescreen in daytime and as an incendiary to light up an area at night. It is a horrific weapon, and has been used repeatedly during the Syrian civil war unfortunately its use has become increasingly normalised.” Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of the UK’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, said: “The most likely culprit is white phosphorus. For this reason, rules governing its use tend to fall under the wider provision of humanitarian law rather than specific prohibitions on chemical weapons. While white phosphorus has toxic chemical properties, it is not generally used to poison or asphyxiate, the common aim of chemical weapons. It is a chemical, but is it a chemical weapon? Its use against military targets, while permitted, is discouraged if there are other means to render enemy combatants hors de combat because of the suffering caused by phosphorus burns. Its use as an incendiary weapon is generally understood to be forbidden in all circumstances where there is a risk to civilians, ie against military targets located amid concentrations of civilians. International humanitarian law allows the use of white phosphorus in munitions for making smoke to mask troop movements and for illumination purposes. The high temperature at which it burns also makes it an effective incendiary device in war. White phosphorus, known as WP, is a chemical that burns fiercely in contact with air, producing thick white acrid smoke and a white light that can be useful for illumination.
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